


Hold My Hand (So I Don't Wander)

by jks_microwave



Series: Black Cat Magic [6]
Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: 97 Liner Friendship is my Favourite Song, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Black Cat BamBam, Black Cat Bang Chan, Black Cat Choi San, Black Cat Jeon Jungkook, Black Cat Jung Hoseok, F/M, Fluff, Gothic Valentine's Day, Human Kang Yeosang, Human Kim Hongjoong, Light Angst, M/M, Porn With Plot, Romance, Smut, Valentine's Day, Valentine's at God's Menu, Were-Cat Kim Namjoon, Were-Cat Kim Taehyung, Were-Cat Park Seonghwa, Were-Cat Song Mingi, Were-Cat Stray Kids, black magic, discussions about necromancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:49:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 85,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29541924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jks_microwave/pseuds/jks_microwave
Summary: It's Valentine's Day at God's Menu, the Host Bar run by Bang Chan, a Black Cat. Wanting to ensure that his hosts and close friends are able to have time with their significant others, he proposes that they have a private appointment with them on Valentine's Day.Chapter 1 - Wooyoung/SanChapter 2 - Taehyung/JungkookChapter 3 - Yoongi/HoseokChapter 4 - Seonghwa/HongjoongChapter 5 - Chan/FelixChapter 6 - Jisung/MinhoChapter 7 - Hyunjin/YeosangChapter 8 - Seokjin/Raven
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kang Yeosang, Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung | V, Jung Hoseok | J-Hope/Min Yoongi | Suga, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa, Kim Seokjin | Jin & Original Female Character(s), Kunpimook Bhuwakul | BamBam/Kim Yugyeom
Series: Black Cat Magic [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1961227
Comments: 63
Kudos: 82





	1. WooSan

**Author's Note:**

> After all the shit I put these characters (and you guys) through, here's some fluff and smut for y'all! 
> 
> You don't have to read all of them, but the chapters tend to build on one another so the story's overall plot going to be more cohesive if you do :)
> 
> The pairings will also tie tightly to their corresponding story and I'll note the part/chapters if necessary. :) Enjoy!
> 
> Title is from ATEEZ's "Mist" <3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wooyoung learns more about San's past as a host and wants to meet his old friends at God's Menu. San's nervous to bring two halves of his life together, but not as nervous as Wooyoung is - what if the past repeats itself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WooSan's story starts in Part 3, and is a side-ship in Part 4 (chapter 4 specifically). San's backstory is explored in Part 5 (Bang Chan's story) from chapters 5-8.

San looked down at the flash cards in his hands and flicked his purple-hued gaze up over them to Yunho. The cafeteria was bustling with activity, and while San wasn’t sure that it was the most conducive place for studying for midterms, he wasn’t about to argue with the taller man’s study habits; it wasn’t his grade, after all. “Wouldn’t Hongjoong-hyung be the better one to ask about this? He’s actually in your Political Science class.”

“He’s studying with Seonghwa-hyung and you’re doing nothing but sitting there looking pretty,” Yunho replied, gesturing to the cards. “Go.”

“Are you sure they’re studying? — ow!” San pouted as Hongjoong smacked him upside the head. San watched as Seonghwa and Hongjoong joined him and the blond man at the table and stuck out his tongue. “Why are you all so mean to me? I’m doing my best.”

Yunho pointed a finger at him. “What you _should_ be doing is helping me study.”

Yeosang snorted as he slid into a seat beside Seonghwa. “Are you so hard up for a study buddy that you roped San into it? What’s the matter, too flustered around Mingi?”

“Shut your whole face.”

“That’s not a no.”

“What’s not a no?” Mingi tilted his head slightly as he leaned over Yunho’s shoulder, peering down at his notes. His wild blond hair was slicked back, his black roots adding a stark contrast to the warm tones of his locks. “Oof. Western voting systems? Miss me with that first-past-the-post shit.”

Hongjoong snorted. “It could be mess that is the Electoral College.”

Seonghwa rolled his eyes as he opened his tea-infused water, deftly turning the cap upside down and jamming it into the mouth of the bottle, releasing the infused flavour. “Let’s not get into another debate as to which voting system is the most flawed; we’re not getting marks for it out here.”

“I have so many questions and I want none of them answered,” San commented, blinking slowly. At Yunho’s insistence, he finally raised the cards up to his face and took a deep breath. “Okay, now explain to me the Canadian Parliamentary system and why—”

“CHOI SAN!”

Yunho groaned loudly and put his head to the table, Mingi sympathetically rubbing his broad shoulders as Wooyoung stormed up to the cafeteria table. San blinked and raised his head, purple eyes peeking out from over the edge of the study cards. “What can I do for you, my soulmate, Jung Wooyoung?”

Wooyoung shoved his phone into San’s face. “When were you going to tell me about _this?_ ” he demanded.

As his soulmate was waving the phone around too much to see the screen properly, San had to set the flash cards down on the table and grasp Wooyoung’s wrist in order to steady it. His eyes widened: there, on the screen, were the profile pictures that Min Yoongi had taken of him when he was employed as a full time host at _God’s Menu_. “Woo… you already knew that I worked at _God’s Menu_ ,” he said, tongue absently worrying at his lip ring. “We went there for your birthday, remember?”

“Not that, _this_ ,” Wooyoung clarified, swiping up with a finger to scroll further down the page.

Oh.

San swallowed a little bit, sheepish as Wooyoung had found photographs, an article and a link to the live-stream of when _Aphrodite_ had gone up against _Star Shine_ in a 3 versus 3 Host Battle. “Aha, well… you know, it just never came up…”

Yeosang blinked and took the phone from Wooyoung, scrolling through the article. “ _Choi San, the Top Host at Aphrodite and the most popular Host in Seoul at the time, had been the sole standout from Aphrodite’s battle against Star Shine which decided the fate of the former’s ability to operate. With Aphrodite’s closure, the elusive host disappeared into the night, only to resurface a year later at the then named Chan’s Room, instrumental in bringing the small club to the heights it now enjoyed as God’s Menu_ …” the raven haired young man looked up and raised his eyebrows. “What the hell; you weren’t just blowing smoke up your own ass that night at Woo’s birthday?”

Huffing indignantly, San folded his arms and blew some of his long hair out of his eyes. “Of course I wasn’t blowing smoke up my own ass,” he said as he stuck his tongue out. “I was the Top Host in Seoul for like three years.”

“Explain. Now.” Wooyoung’s jaw jutted out slightly as he eyed his soulmate.

San sighed and ran a tattooed hand through his hair. “I was the Top Host at _Aphrodite_ until _Star Shine_ ran them out of business. _Star Shine_ wanted me to work there afterwards and I didn’t so I bounced,” San explained, rubbing his neck. “ _Star Shine_ was - is - still involved in a lot of shady shit. They treat their hosts like garbage, and I’m pretty sure the Owner’s into trafficking Were-Cats. But the whole Host Battle with _Star Shine_ left such a bad taste in my mouth I ditched it all and moved on. Then I heard that a Black Cat was running a Host Bar so I was curious; I’d never met another one before. I went to check it out and that’s how I met Chan-hyung. I stayed at _God’s Menu_ for about a year and a half until I realized that… my home was elsewhere.”

In truth, Chan’s mentor Raven, a mysterious Black Cat herself, had pierced through his bullshit and told him in no uncertain terms that Fate was losing her patience with him and soon his life would be changing whether he wanted it to or not. He’d been afraid of losing the only home and family he’d known, but deep down… he knew his Soulmate and his home was out there and he had to find it.

Hongjoong tilted his head. “Your home?”

San nodded, playing with a stud on his right ear, one that was the logo of _God’s Menu_. “As important as that place is to me, as much I consider those guys my brothers, it wasn’t where I needed to be. My soulmate, the place I belonged, the people I was meant to be with… they were somewhere else and I had to leave Chan-hyung and the others to find it. So I could find… so I could find you guys.”

Seonghwa smiled and placed a hand over San’s. “We’re glad to have found you too.” It was true; with San’s arrival, their group of seven became eight and felt complete.

Wooyoung pressed his palms flat on the table, elegant fingers splayed out and adorned with simple yet expensive looking rings. “I want to go to _God’s Menu_.”

San blinked. “For a date?” Wooyoung pouted at him and San blinked again, confusion colouring his beautiful features. “… _not_ a date?” he tried again.

“I want to meet everyone!” Wooyoung exclaimed. “You call Bang Chan ‘hyung’ and you seemed really close with that Hyunjin guy. I wanna… I wanna meet the people closest to you.” He pouted. “You got to meet everyone closest to me.”

Realization swept over San’s face and he smiled warmly, pulling Wooyoung into his lap for a tight hug. “Yeah, of course,” he said, smiling against Wooyoung’s neck as he nuzzled it, right at the juncture where a mate’s mark would go. “I promised hyung I’d bring you to meet him when I found you, anyway.”

Yeosang smirked slightly as Wooyoung blushed furiously. “Does he know that your meet-cute with your darling soulmate was him knocking your ass down in the middle of campus?”

“For both our sakes, I left that part out,” San replied with a laugh as he pulled out his cellphone, laughing as Wooyoung petulantly bit at his jaw. He pinched Wooyoung’s side before clapping a hand to his hip while he searched through his contacts for Chan’s number. The Bengal were-cat made an embarrassing squeak and hunched his shoulders up, realizing that he’d just given their friend group a lot more ammo than he ever wanted them to have. “Chan-hyung, it’s San. Is this a bad time?”

“Sannie!” came Chan’s voice, as bright as the Black Cat remembered it. Something nostalgic wafted up in his chest at the older man’s voice, even though he’d just seen him a couple of months ago. “What’s up?”

While rubbing Wooyoung’s back to placate his sulking soulmate, San shifted so he could hold the phone better. “I realized I didn’t properly introduce Wooyoung to everyone. Can you gather the troops? We can be by before you open for dinner tonight if that works. If not, whenever you guys can make it work.”

The sound of keyboard keys clicking filled the other end of the line. “Yeah, absolutely! Not everyone’s scheduled to be in right away, but I know they’d make an exception for you. Can you make it for 16:00?”

San picked up Wooyoung’s phone out of Jongho’s hand and looked at the calendar. “Yeah, Woo’s last class is at 15:15.”

“Perfect; I’ll call everyone for a meeting. See you then, Sannie!”

“See you then, hyung.”

“Oh - before you go. Can you ask Seonghwa if he wants to bring Hongjoong in on Valentine’s Day? I’m polling the other hosts so they can do something special for the last appointments of the night. If you want in too, just let me know but I’ll probably ask you to work that day,” Chan laughed. 

San blinked. As per usual, Chan was a literal angel who didn’t know they were giving a godsend of an invitation. “—Yeah, absolutely. Pencil me in; I can work all of February and March if you need me to.” There was usually an uptick in hex requests after Valentine’s Day, and Hoseok made any requests they got during February sit for a month before revisiting them - neither him, Hoseok or Jungkook wanted to take on a hasty request; it was their asses on the line if something went wrong.

Chan sucked on his teeth and he exhaled softly. “Might just have to take you up on that; you wouldn’t think that Valentine’s Day would be busy for a Host Bar, but we’re dangerously close to being over-booked. — Let’s talk more when you come by this afternoon.”

“You got it. See you then.” San ended the call and slipped his phone back into the inside pocket of his jacket, giving Wooyoung a squeeze. “I’ll come and grab you after class, okay? I gotta go and find where the hell I put my old Host suits.”

Wooyoung nodded and nuzzled San, giving his neck a soft nip - right where a mating mark would go. The Bengal loved to tease actually biting San there, loved to push the boundary of what was acceptable, knowing how much San loved it. (What a brat,) San thought fondly, pinching Wooyoung’s side.

“Should I dress up?” Wooyoung asked, tilting his head.

Gently flicking Wooyoung’s soulmate earring, the Black Cat shook his head as he gently deposited Wooyoung on an empty chair, and stood up. “Nah, as you are is fine.” He pressed a soft kiss to Wooyoung’s temple and waved to the others. “I’ll bring the rest of you another time, I promise,” San said, smiling sheepishly.

“No, we get it, ‘soulmate privileges’,” Seonghwa said with a laugh as he made quotation marks with his fingers, like he wasn’t a member of _God’s Menu’s_ roster himself.

Remembering what Chan told him, San moved around to the Snow Leopard were-cat and leaned in to whisper, “let Chan-hyung know if you want to bring Hongjoong-hyung to the Bar for Valentine’s day for a private appointment at the end of the night; I’m gonna bring Woo.” Seonghwa blinked and nodded, smiling as San headed off.

“What was that about?” Hongjoong asked, jerking his thumb in the direction that San left.

Seonghwa shook his head slightly with a smile. “Chan-hyung wanted him to pass along a message about work, it’s nothing bad.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Park Seonghwa.”

~ * ~

Wooyoung was so nervous he felt like throwing up.

There was little that he knew about San’s past, and he had been learning that it had been by the Black Cat’s design. Learning that San had been the Top Host in Seoul for a handful of years in the Host Bar circuit before he appeared in Wooyoung’s life had thrown him for a loop. He’d known that San had worked at _God’s Menu_ , having found out when they’d gone to the Host Bar and Restaurant for his birthday a few months ago, yes, but it was still a surprise to hear just how famous his soulmate was in that world. Or, honestly, in general.

The Bengal were-cat finally let his curiosity get the best of him and had googled ‘Choi San’ and ‘Host Bar’, coming up with a veritable mountain of information detailing the Black Cat’s surprisingly storied career. He was instrumental in bringing a small club like _Aphrodite_ up in popularity only to be taken out by _Star Shine_ , and in that Host Bar Battle, San was the only host to score a win over one the juggernaut hosts of _Star Shine_ ; something that hadn’t been done before. Now that he thought about it, Hwang Hyunjin was the name of the host that San had beaten one on one. How did he end up at _God’s Menu?_

Just what else didn’t Wooyoung know about San?

Memories of his ex-girlfriend swirled to the front of his mind, and he absently gripped San’s hand. That’s how they’d met, but Wooyoung didn’t know at the time that his ex had hired San to cast a truth hex on him so she could get information on where they kept their loose diamonds. He was trying to be better, to not be so paranoid when it came to his relationships, but after what happened… a part of him couldn’t help it. The other part knew that San wouldn’t do something like that; he’d sacrificed the job and his standing with his hyungs just to protect Wooyoung, disappearing and giving the Bengal time to heal.

Their relationship was still so fresh and their connection so deep that Wooyoung was driving himself crazy trying to figure out the mystery that was Choi San. He knew he had to take it slow, that they were taking it slow because of the circumstances of their meeting, and he just had to keep reminding himself of that.

They had the time now. 

“…and then Jisung and Hyunjin got jumped by some assholes and were saved by Minho-hyung and Changbin-hyung,” San was saying as they left the subway station, coming out on the snowy street. “I always knew Ji could fight, but never expected Hyunjin to throw hands. Still don’t know if Minho-hyung and Changbin-hyung were a part of a gang or not, but at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised one way or another.”

Wooyoung broke out of his spiralling thoughts and looked over at San. “Sorry, did you just say that they got jumped over their groceries?”

San blinked. “Yeah; there are a bunch of street punks running around in gangs all over the place. They thought Ji and Hyunjin were easy marks because they were were-cats, little did they know they jumped the wrong guys.”

“That’s insane,” Wooyoung breathed, eyes wide. “Have you ever been in a fight?”

“A couple,” San admitted, rubbing his neck as he turned the corner towards the host bar. “I pretty much learned how to cast hexes as counters in a fight before I learned they were supposed to be more meticulously cast. — I don’t like to fight, but I will if I have to. Ji and I used to get into it all the time with assholes on the streets who didn’t like how we looked; a Black Cat and a Chimera drew a lot of stares.”

Wooyoung chewed on his bottom lip, looking up at the awning that proudly displayed the name _God’s Menu_. “This Jisung… you’re… good friends?”

“Yep. Childhood friends, like you and Yeosang,” San replied, knocking on the door. “We grew up in the same orphanage together, and used to run all sorts of cons so we could survive. I should tell you about the time we convinced the Seoul Shilla Hotel that we were the children of the US Ambassador to —”

Before he could finish, the door opened and standing in the doorway was Bang Chan, the Manager and Co-Owner of _God’s Menu_. He grinned and pulled San into a tight hug, one that the younger Black Cat returned tightly. “Sannie!” he exclaimed, giving San a gentle nuzzle. “And you’re Wooyoung, yeah? Please, come in!” Chan stepped aside, letting San and Wooyoung in before closing and locking the doors behind them. “Hang tight; I’ll go and get the others.”

 _God’s Menu_ looked quite a bit different in the daytime, and Wooyoung looked around curiously as the main floor area was being transformed from the lunch service to dinner and hosting. The kitchen was prepping for the dinner service, and Wooyoung’s mouth watered at the delicious scents wafting in from the back of the restaurant. He snapped out of his thoughts as San squeezed his hand and looked up, suddenly realizing that San was nervous too; the Bengal could feel the slight tremble as he held his soulmate’s hand.

“Hey, are you okay?” Wooyoung finally asked, giving San’s hand a comforting squeeze.

“—I’m fine, just… I wasn’t feeling nervous until just now,” San admitted, swallowing. He turned to Wooyoung and smiled. “I didn’t think I’d ever be bringing two different parts of my life together like this. That I’d _have_ two parts of my life to bring together.”

At that moment, every single shred of worry evaporated out of Wooyoung, and he smiled, pressing a kiss to San’s soulmate earring. “Thanks for bringing me here,” he said earnestly. “I want… I want to know everything about you, San. Nothing’s going to make me run.” Wooyoung cracked a smile. “I’m too stubborn.”

The risk in admitting that was worth it to see a small, genuine smile on San’s tinted lips. “Woo…”

“Choi San! You mangy fur ball! You finally have the guts to show your face around here again?” someone exclaimed and San turned his head with a smile to see Hyunjin, golden orange eyes bright and blond hair shining in the late afternoon sunlight. “I have to hear from Chan-hyung that you slunk back? You couldn’t even text me?”

San laughed and gave Hyunjin a one-armed hug, never once letting go of Wooyoung’s hand. “Sorry, Hyunjin. For some reason, my soulmate wanted to meet you losers.”

“So _you’re_ the soulmate,” came another voice and Wooyoung whirled around to find himself face-to-face with a young man with blond and navy hair, split evenly down the middle, one of his eyes bright green and the other bright blue. He jabbed himself in the chest with a thumb. “Well _I’m_ Han Jisung; the childhood best friend so you don’t gotta worry about passing anybody else’s vibe check but _mine_ , got it?”

“Hey! You can’t threaten Sannie’s soulmate without me!” a young blond man exclaimed, his green eyes bright and Australian accent thick as he came over with Chan.

Chan sighed and smiled ruefully. “None of you should be threatening anyone, _Felix_ ; San brought his soulmate here to meet all of you, not to face an inquisition.”

A young man with reddish brown hair and piercing blue eyes folded his arms and peered at Wooyoung from the side, causing the Bengal to jump; he hadn’t seen or heard the older man approach at all. “What’s the fun in getting to meet ‘The Soulmate’ if we don’t get to press him a little bit? We’re all strays here, so someone’s got to give him the talk. I’m sure Sannie’s gotten it from this guy’s parents.”

“It’s true, I have,” San said solemnly, nodding. “It was an outright interrogation.”

“The talk?” Wooyoung squeaked.

“Minho, stop scaring him,” Chan lectured, trying very hard to keep the smile from coming to his lips.

Another young man, this one with silver hair leaned in to Wooyoung’s other side, muscular arms flexing slightly as he came between San and Wooyoung, putting his arm around the Bengal’s neck. “We’re just _talking_ with him, hyung.”

Chan sighed. “Changbin, you’re going to make it that San disappears for another year and a half before we see him again. Be nice to his soulmate.”

“Nah, keep going, he’s been a pain in the ass lately,” San said teasingly, snickering as he released Felix from a tight hug and nuzzle. He was then pulled into another hug by quiet boy with pale yellow eyes and shaggy brown hair. “Seungminnie, you keeping everyone in line?”

Seungmin snorted. “In this madhouse? It’s only gotten worse.” He looked over his shoulder. “Jeongin, you remember San-hyung, right?”

The youngest of the Hosts nodded, coming up quietly behind Seungmin and bowing respectfully. “A little,” he admitted. “I only met him briefly when he came for my birthday.” He smiled. “It’s nice to see you again, though.”

“You still keeping everybody on their toes with your illusion magic?” San asked, and gave the half Black Cat a wicked grin.

“You bet,” Jeongin confirmed, grinning back. “I scared the crap out of Changbin-hyung one time, and—”

“Come _walk_ with us, Wooyoung-ah, come _sit_ with us,” Minho said with a sharp smile as he placed two hands on the Bengal’s shoulders, guiding him over to one of the larger tables, sitting him down on one side while Changbin guided San beside him. The hosts of _God’s Menu_ then sat on the direct other side, hands resting on the top of the table, fingers clasped together. “I’m glad Sannie brought you back here, I’ve been wanting to _talk_ to you,” the Birman were-cat said, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

Worriedly, Wooyoung looked over at San who smiled back at him. “Don’t worry, it won’t be as bad as when your parents interrogated me,” he promised. He paused. “Well, it might be on the same level.” San turned to the hosts. “Be nice.”

Hyunjin huffed and folded his arms. “Come on, you’d take away _The Talk_ from us? It’s like the one thing we get to look forward to as your brothers. I’ve had an entire speech prepared and everything.”

San raised an eyebrow. “An entire speech? Hyung only told you about this a couple of hours ago.”

“Yes, but I saw him with you a couple of months ago so I’ve had time to _prepare_ ,” Hyunjin replied blithely. “Or were you not expecting me to realize that you two have the exact same soulmate earring?”

Jisung smirked and looked over at Felix. “I _told_ you that it was obvious that you and hyung had soulmate earrings.”

“Shut up!” Felix exclaimed as his shoulders hunched up defensively. “No one just _explains_ to you what these earrings mean if you’re not a Black Cat!”

San scratched the side of his nose. “In my defense, I tried to tell Felix about a thousand times.”

Wooyoung blinked. “A fortune teller told me about mine,” he said, looking around confusedly at the table. “I didn’t believe her at the time, though.”

“We’re getting off track,” Minho said, leaning in to look at Wooyoung dead in the eyes, causing the younger were-cat to swallow tightly. “I’m still not convinced as to your character and if you’re good enough for our Sannie, Jung Wooyoung.”

Changbin smirked and leaned in himself, causing Wooyoung to sit back. “What is it that you _do_ , Jung Wooyoung?”

“D…Do you need to use my full name like that?” Wooyoung asked nervously, looking between the two of them.

Chan sighed and shook his head ruefully. “Just… let them get it out of their system,” he said with a chuckle.

“Was San really the top host here?” Wooyoung asked, using any and every chance to avoid the interrogation from Minho and Changbin. “And at _Aphrodite?_ ”

Hyunjin nodded. “As much as I hate to admit it, Sannie was the Top Host in the city for a while. _Aphrodite_ was a tiny club in a bad location in the district, but he was a big part of the reason that team gelled so well, how they started to take business away from _Star Shine_.”

Looking between Hyunjin and San, Wooyoung had a feeling he had to ask his next question carefully. “If Hyunjin-ssi … was at _Star Shine_ , how is he here now? Did he … quit?”

Chan smiled as he leaned back in his seat. “Back when we were still called _Chan’s Room_ , the top Host Bar at the time, _Star Shine_ , challenged us to something called a Host Bar Battle. Basically it’s a head-to-head competition with three of their hosts against three of ours, and whomever makes the most money at the end of the night wins. When _Star Shine_ challenged us, Sannie put the stakes up that if _we_ won, we got _Star Shine’s_ profits, as well as that Felix and Hyunjin would come to work for us.”

“I mentioned _Star Shine_ had shitty practices,” San added, idly fiddling with one of his earrings. “Hyunjin and Felix were hosts there until hyung, Ji and I won and got them out of there.”

Wooyoung blinked, eyes wide. He turned to San and huffed. “So you can commit to something like _that_ no problem but getting you to agree to have dinner with my parents is like pulling teeth?”

San groaned and put his face in his tattooed hands. “That’s _different;_ your parents are _terrifying_.”

Minho gently but very firmly turned Wooyoung’s chin over so he could face the Birman were-cat and smirked. “Which brings me back to my question, Wooyoung-ah. What is that you do?”

Cursing inwardly that he hadn’t escaped the interrogation at all, Wooyoung looked down at Minho’s fingers then back up to his face and his steely blue eyes. “I’m a student right now,” he said slowly, carefully disengaging the Birman’s fingers from his face. “But I’m going to be working at the family business when I graduate.”

“Oh? Family business?” Changbin echoed, leaning in.

“Y-Yeah, they’re jewellers,” Wooyoung answered, leaning back.

Felix leaned forward from where he was. “How did you two meet?” he asked, his emerald-hued eyes bright with curiosity. “Sannie hasn’t told us _anything_.”

“He swept me off my feet,” San answered airily, with a laugh.

Wooyoung rubbed his neck sheepishly. “He was standing in the middle of the walkway intersection and I ran him over since I was running late to English Lit. I mean, I ran _into_ him but he didn’t move a muscle and I fell on my ass.”

The Hosts of _God’s Menu_ blinked slowly at the admission before laughter suddenly erupted form the table. Chan was trying his best to hide his laughter, but it was extremely difficult; the energy in the Bar was infectious and the truth hilarious. “That’s… Sannie, when I said you’d run into your soulmate sooner or later I didn’t mean literally,” Chan said, biting his lip with a wide smile.

San laughed himself and put a hand over his face. “I know, I know! I didn’t think I’d _literally_ run into them either; I thought I’d never meet them.”

Hyunjin snorted. “Is that why you used your soulmate earring to flirt with your customers?”

“It was all in good fun!” San defended himself when he found himself on the other end of Wooyoung’s unimpressed glare. “They knew they weren’t my soulmate and I was selling a fantasy, that’s kind of the job.”

“I told you it’d come back to haunt you,” Chan said blithely.

“Chan-hyung!” San protested. “You were supposed to be one of the good ones!”

Chan smirked slightly as he leaned back in his seat. “As much as everybody is here to give your Soulmate a hard time, don’t think that you’re going to escape unscathed, Choi San.” He gestured for Wooyoung to lean in a bit and turned his phone around, showing him a photograph of San on the morning of his birthday that he shared at _God’s Menu_ , his hair fluffy and face a bit puffy from sleep as he happily ate his breakfast. “I didn’t give you a present for your birthday, Wooyoung-ah, so I hope this suffices.”

San’s eyes widened and he nearly leapt over the top of the table to grab at the phone out of Chan’s hands, only to be deftly dodged and the phone to make it into Wooyoung’s hands anyway.Quickly, the Bengal were-cat shot to his feet and danced away, holding up the phone so he could get a better look at the screen. “Ahh, you’re so cute, Sannie! Chan-ssi, can you send this to me? I want it as my wallpaper!”

“Oh the hell you do!” San exclaimed, pushing himself to his feet and chasing after his soulmate.

Wooyoung grinned wickedly as he deftly slid away and while San was being held back by Hyunjin and Jisung, quickly entered his phone number into Chan’s phone, sending the picture to himself. “I don’t know why you’re so feral about it, you look cute!” He gently tossed the phone to Chan, who caught it deftly.

“I didn’t even know Chan-hyung took that picture!” San wailed, pouting as he leaned heavily against Jisung, clinging to the Chimera were-cat. “I look awful!”

Grinning, the Bengal were-cat pulled out his own phone and set the picture as his lock screen picture; it was so rare for him to get something to tease San with so he was _not_ about to let this one slip through his fingers. “Look, though!”

“No, don’t _show them!_ ” San groaned.

Changbin threw his head back and cackled, catching Wooyoung easily with an arm around his shoulders. “You, I like you!”

“I don’t like any of you!” San pouted, sulkily going into Jisung’s arms as the younger were-cat hugged him with a giggle. “What happened to all this big talk about giving him the riot act? Huh? Now you’re just bullying _me!_ ”

Changbin smirked as he tightened his arm around Wooyoung. “Right, back to business. It goes without saying, but if you hurt Sannie, me and Min know a lot of good places to hide a body.”

“W-What?” Wooyoung blinked slowly, caught off guard by the sudden threat. “You’re not… serious, are you?”

“Is that a risk you’re wiling to take?” Minho asked, smirking as sat back in his seat.

Jisung carefully shifted San over to Felix and grinned, slinging an arm around Wooyoung’s neck. “I think Miss. Raven’s fond of Sannie too so if you pull anything, she’s gonna know. I don’t even really need to threaten you, to be honest. — I wouldn’t, but y’know.”

“…M-Miss. Raven?” Wooyoung echoed.

“She’s a really powerful Black Cat,” Jeongin explained, having been staying out of the insanity thus far, “she taught me how to use my magic. And I know she taught Chan-hyung too.”

Chan smiled and scratched his cheek as San was deposited back into his seat. “Our community is pretty small but very well connected. She works closely with Kwon Jiyong, who taught _your_ mentor, Sannie.”

San stared at him. “Wait, back up. Jungkook-hyung was taught by _G-Dragon?_ ” he asked in disbelief. “What the hell; he didn’t mention that at _all_.”

“Jungkook-ssi seems pretty private,” Wooyoung pointed out, still being held in place by Changbin but no longer fighting against the Bobtail’s hold. He looked at the others. “Oh, doesn’t Seonghwa-hyung work here too?”

Felix nodded with a smile. “He does! He’s been stealing everyone’s customers.”

Seungmin snorted. “I would say it’s witchcraft but he’s not even a Black Cat. The customers just go nuts for him. They even ship him and his boyfriend; I don’t know how he does it.”

Wooyoung blinked and a wicked grin split his lips. “They know about Hongjoong-hyung?”

“So when Seonghwa-hyung took your birthday dinner appointment, Hongjoong-ah hung back to talk to him, yeah?” Jisung said, grinning. “Everybody was watching the two of them like hawks; like we were in the middle of some kind of drama.”

Hyunjin smirked as he rested an arm over the back of Jeongin’s seat. “We should ask if he’s looking for work; the two of them could clean up with that kind of chemistry.”

San snickered. “I’ll ask, but he’s working on finishing up his music composition degree so he’s probably going to be dead to the world for a while.”

“Did we meet Hongjoong before?” Changbin asked suddenly, looking over at Chan. “I thought I’d seen him around somewhere, when he popped up for that birthday appointment…”

Chan smiled. “He was with Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung when we asked for their help with the title track for the Bar’s first year anniversary like two years ago. I was happy to see him again, though I don’t think he recognized me.” He laughed, scratching his cheek. “I don’t blame him, though, it’s been a while. But if Seonghwa brings him for Valentine’s Day, you’ll see him then — ah, speaking of! Sannie. What’s your schedule like these days?”

San blinked as he was hanging off Seungmin’s shoulders now, much to the Maine Coon were-cat’s (slight) annoyance. “Pretty open; I pick up shifts here and there at _Moon_ when Jin-hyung needs extra help and Hex requests are probably gonna pick up in March, but that’s about it. Why, what’s up?”

“I hate to ask you this as I know you’re pretty much out of the game, but would you be able to work for us for a little while? Just until we’re able to get through this bit of a crunch?” Chan asked, his dual-coloured eyes conflicted. “I’m looking into temp employees for the restaurant portion but it’s a bit harder to get a good host that knows the ropes; we don’t really have the time to be training someone from the ground up right now. — I know I asked you about February and March, and if you can’t, that’s fine —”

A small smile creased San’s lips and Wooyoung felt his chest swell a bit with affection; there was something so nostalgic on San’s face at the request. “I can work here as long as you need me to. As … as long as you’re okay with it, Woo.” He looked over at Wooyoung. “I know it’s a lot, learning that I used to be a host, and all.”

Wooyoung blinked, and fell silent, glancing away as he thought about it. “…you don’t go home with any of your clients, right? You never did?” Maybe that’s what was bothering him - the idea that San was romancing and flirting with actresses, actors, heirs and all manner of good-looking people and he had no idea.

Like he had no idea what Sooyun was doing.

— No. He’d told himself during the summer last year that he wouldn’t go down that road. The soul-searching, the appointments with his therapist, he’d come a long way from the mess he’d been at the beginning of the summer. He was doing his best not to spiral again.

_“I’m just… I get scared, you know? It can be so perfect that I’m afraid that I’ll mess it up somehow.”_

_“Me too. I don’t want you to… feel pressured, just because fate said we’re soulmates. Okay? Talk… talk to me. And I’ll… talk to you too. It’s in our hands.”_

That’s right.

This was different.

San wasn’t Sooyun.

“No, never,” San answered honestly, shaking his head. “I didn’t do it at _Aphrodite_ and it’s definitely not the way things are handled at _God’s Menu_. If it helps, I can only be available for double appointments so someone’s always with me.”

To his surprise, Wooyoung shook his head. “No, that’s… no, that’s not necessary. You’re not… you’re not _her_ and this isn’t _then_. It’s up to us, isn’t it? I trust you.” He put his arms around San’s neck and pressed their foreheads together. “Besides, I have your hyung’s number now so I can get all sorts of embarrassing stories now.” He paused and tapped his own lip thoughtfully. “Actually, maybe I should get Hyunjin-ssi’s number.”

San’s expression had shifted from relief, to loving to horrified in the span of a few seconds. “No. _No._ There’s no — _no_. That’s the worst idea. The two of you? No.”

Hyunjin smirked. “No, I think he’s onto something. But to make Sannie sweat, just give me your number when you come for Valentine’s Day.”

Wooyoung blinked. “What’s happening on Valentine’s Day?” He’d heard that mentioned a couple of times now. “Are you doing some kind of event?”

“We’ve been trying to think of something,” Felix explained, rubbing his neck. “But every host bar under the sun is doing the normal type of Valentine’s Day and we’re too weird to do something boring like that.”

Chan smiled fondly at Felix before looking at Wooyoung. “I asked the Hosts here if they wanted to bring a date to the Bar and have a private appointment at the end of the night. Since we’d be working until close, I thought it would be nice to make sure they could have _some_ kind of date.”

“Oh that’s really nice — hey, does that include you?” Wooyoung asked, turning to his soulmate.

San pouted at him. “I don’t know, why don’t you ask Hyunjin to take you, if you love him so much more than me now. Or you can third wheel with Felix and Chan-hyung.” He stuck out his tongue.

Wooyoung pouted right back at him and gave him a little head butt, much to the amusement of the other Hosts. “I don’t want to go with _them_ ,” he protested.

“Who, then?” San challenged.

The Bengal bit at San’s sharp jawline. “You, stupid!”

“They’re perfect for each other,” Jisung snickered, putting a hand over his face. “Why did I think Sannie’s soulmate would be anyone different?”

Felix giggled into his hands. “This is exactly who I thought Sannie’s soulmate would be!”

San sighed and gave in as Wooyoung began petulantly nuzzling him and turned to regard Chan. “What about doing something similar to what you did for Halloween? Like … make it a Black Cat Valentine’s Day? That’s been the appeal, right?”

Wooyoung’s eyes brightened. “Like a Gothic romance? Ah, what was that movie? _Crimson Peak!_ ”

“That wasn’t romance,” Jeongin pointed out.

“Shh, no don’t say anything,” Seungmin interrupted, waving his hand. “Let him have it.”

Chan tilted his head in confusion before his dual-coloured eyes widened and he clapped his hands together. “That’s it! I’ll ask our Black Cat friends if they can come by and help out for a night… Sannie, Wooyoung, you’re geniuses!” Quickly, he pulled out his phone and began typing on the notepad application. “I’m going to speak to Hoseok-hyung, do you mind asking if Jungkook-ssi is interested?”

San blinked. “Sure. He might actually be interested; I know he’s been stressed about what to do for Valentine’s Day. It’s tough when you’re dating Kim Taehyung.”

Chan blinked back at him owlishly, blue and yellow eyes filled with confusion. “Jungkook-ssi is dating Kim Taehyung? Last I heard Taehyung-ssi was seeing Yang Jaehwa.”

“Oh, no. God, no. They broke up a while ago and he’s been with JK-hyung for a while; they’re soulmates. _I_ met JK-hyung when Yang crashed his birthday party and hyung hexed him with no one else realizing it,” San explained, grinning.

Sighing in relief with a smile on his lips, Chan ran a hand through his hair. “That’s wonderful - not that he got hexed, but … Taehyung-ssi was one of my first customers when the Bar was called _Chan’s Room_. I’m so glad he found his happiness.”

Felix grinned at him. “Double good thing you won this bar from Yang, then!”

“You won this bar from Yang Jaehwa?” Wooyoung echoed in disbelief. “How? Who are you?”

Chan smiled sheepishly. “I used to bartend at _Moon_ and Seokjin-hyung pulled me into one of his poker nights with his friends. They started anteing up property and I won this bar when Yang’s bar was in the winnings pool.”

Felix laughed. “And then, when he came to look at his new place, he found me!”

San’s eyes widened and he smiled warmly; _God’s Menu_ was really a lot more important to people than he realized. As he pulled out his phone from his pocket and pulled up Jungkook’s thread in his messages app, he wondered just when it was that he realized how much he missed being within the walls of the Host Bar.

How much he missed all of them.

 **Sannie [4:25 p.m.]  
**JK-hyung! Do you have any plans for Valentine’s Day?

 **JK-hyung [4:27 p.m.]  
**Are you asking me out, Sannie?  
Your soulmate’s going to stalk me again 

**Sannie [4:28 p.m.]  
**lmao  
no  
I used to work as a Host at God’s Menu  
and my hyung, Bang Chan  
is doing a Black Cat Valentine’s Day  
If you want, and are comfortable with it, wanna help out?  
You can bring Taehyung-ssi as your date for the last appt

 **JK-hyung [4:30 p.m.]  
**I’m  
I’m not a host

 **Sannie [4:30 p.m.]  
**I’m aware  
I can teach you

 **JK-hyung [4:31 p.m.]  
**What’s this about a Valentine’s Day appt? 

**Sannie [4:32 p.m.]  
**Chan-hyung is letting the hosts have their s/o’s in for the last appt of the night  
and I know you were looking for something  
to do with Taehyung-ssi

 **JK-hyung [4:33 p.m.]  
**I might regret this  
But I’m in  
Let me know when the meeting is

 **Sannie [4:33 p.m.]  
**You got it

“JK-hyung is in,” San reported as he slipped his phone into his back pocket. “I’ll bring him for the team meeting to coordinate all of this.”

Chan smiled at him. “Perfect. Thanks again, Sannie. I hate to cut this all short, but we’ve gotta prepare for dinner service. Please come by again, though?”

San nodded. “Of course, hyung. I’ll bring the others, too. They’ve been wanting to come here again and meet everyone. I don’t know why _they’re_ so interested, though.”

“It’s because you’re so goddamn coy with your past,” Wooyoung pointed out. “They wouldn’t care so much if you were just honest.”

San sighed dramatically and leaned against his soulmate. “Can I not have some mystery to myself?”

“No.” Wooyoung smirked and bit his cheek. “I can’t wait for you to _host_ me, Sannie.”

“You’re lucky you don’t have to pay my rate.”

~ * ~

Wooyoung looked at himself in the mirror in his dorm room, dressed to the nines in a bespoke, dark purple, almost black Dolce & Gabbana suit, and smirked; San wouldn’t know what hit him tonight. His usually dark blond hair was now pitch black, the long, wavy strands hiding an undercut as sharp as Wooyoung’s mouth. Expertly applied eyeshadow made him look like he walked out of a fashion magazine, and just the faintest bit of lip gloss made his lips plump and shimmery. Lining the shell of his left ear were a row of painstakingly curated studs that accented his soulmate earring. His right ear had a gorgeous black ear-cuff that hooked behind and over the outer shell of his ear, complete with garnet roses that dangled in a staggered pattern from sparkling silver chains.

Call him narcissistic, but Wooyoung knew he looked fucking incredible.

He looked down at his phone and grinned; he was ready just in time. Pocketing his phone, Wooyoung pulled on his dress winter coat, buttoning it up and pulling on a scarf. He grabbed his keys and made sure he had his wallet before leaving his dorm, making his way towards _God’s Menu_ in Itaewon. Wooyoung glanced down at his ring-adorned hands, practically white-knuckling his steering wheel in excitement. Once he pulled into a surprisingly close parking spot, Wooyoung killed the engine and did one last check of his appearance in the visor mirror, grinning and getting out.

Inside, _God’s Menu_ had been transformed into a Gothic wonderland, bursting with blacks, reds, silvers and hints of midnight blue. Wooyoung’s mouth opened slightly, stunned at how much had changed in such a short amount of time - it really was some kind of magic that transformed this place. A firm hand came down on his shoulder and he jumped, realizing that he’d been staring slack-jawed, and raised his head to see Chan’s smiling face. “Ah, good evening,” Wooyoung said sheepishly.

“Evening,” Chan greeted, amused. “You’re right on time; Sannie is just freshening up. Want to go to his table and be a nice surprise for him?”

“You read my mind,” Wooyoung replied, grinning. “Who decorated this place? It looks incredible!”

Chan smiled. “That would be my mentor, Miss. Raven. — Ah, she’s right over there. That’s her soulmate, Kim Seokjin sitting with her.”

Wooyoung felt it was too early in the night to be reeling, but that was a lot of information that was just thrown at him. “Kim Seokjin? How do you and Sannie just _know_ him? — wait.” He paused as he caught sight of Raven’s profile as she laughed at something Seokjin was saying. “That’s Yeosang’s sister!”

At that, Chan stopped as well, his eyes wide. “Miss. Raven has a _brother?_ ” he echoed. “Ah, you know, we’ll put a pin in that for later; San’s about ready to come back.” He placed a hand on Wooyoung’s back, guiding the younger man to the younger Black Cat’s hosting station - a beautiful setup with two black-iron chairs draped in red and a gorgeous little table decorated like it had come out of a castle. “Enjoy your appointment, Wooyoung!”

Blinking, Wooyoung snapped out of his daze and nodded. “Thank you, Chan-ssi.”

Chan smiled. “Call me hyung. — I’ve got to get moving; I’ve got my own surprise for Felix.” He winked and hurried off, disappearing into the sea of black and red.

Wooyoung stared after the older man for a moment before quickly realizing he had a precious few seconds before San would return; he had to get to work. He shucked off his coat, hanging it up on a nearby coat stand, quickly adding his scarf to it. As he adjusted his suit, he pulled out his phone and swiped right, opening up the camera and using the frontwards facing camera to do a final check on how he looked.

Perfect.

The Bengal were-cat slipped his phone back into the inside breast pocket of his jacket, sitting down comfortably and crossing his legs elegantly. He rested an arm over the back of his seat, watching as San returned from the backroom, looking like a _vision_ in a slim, well-tailored black suit with a blood red shirt, a black tie and black, wing-tipped dress shoes. San’s jewellery was immaculate, his silver lip ring attached to a sparkling chain that attached to one of his earrings. His lips were tinted red, working beautifully with his natural, amethyst-hued eyes. Those very same eyes that Wooyoung loved to stare into widened in surprise when he caught sight of his soulmate lounging in his hosting station. The Bengal felt a rush of pride at being the one who made San look like _that_.

“…Wooyoung?” San croaked, his voice cracking in about six different places.

“Was there another soulmate you were expecting?” Wooyoung asked in return, his smirk widening; oh this was _exactly_ the reaction he was hoping for. “Come on and sit down; or were you expecting _me_ to host _you?_ I’ve got to tell you, I’ve been looking forward to getting spoiled by Seoul’s Top Host.”

Shock remained on San’s devastatingly handsome features before a switch was flipped as soon as the words ‘Top Host’ left Wooyoung’s pouty lips. The Black Cat’s entire expression shifted to something that looked like he wanted to eat Wooyoung whole and if Wooyoung was honest… he’d let him in a heartbeat. He walked over and gently picked up Wooyoung’s left hand, pressing a kiss to the younger were-cat’s ring finger, just a hint of his lip tint transferring to his soulmate’s finger. “Welcome to _God’s Menu_ ,” San purred. “Anything on our menu will satisfy _all_ of your five senses. My name is San and I’ll be your host tonight.”

Wooyoung hoped to whatever God was listening that San didn’t notice the swallow he took to moisten his throat; San in Host Mode was something else and he was _not_ prepared for it. “The infamous Choi San of _God’s Menu_ , huh?” he could play this game too. “I bet your Valentine’s Day has been pretty chock-full of admirers.”

San hummed noncommittally, not once letting go of Wooyoung’s left hand and was even going so far as to absently drawing little circles with his thumb. “I can’t remember any of them right now; you’ve blown me away… Jung Wooyoung.”

A furious blush coloured Wooyoung’s cheeks, but he was determined not to lose this game of sexy-chicken that he and San were engaged in. “Do you think something so cheap is going to work on me?”

“I don’t think the truth is cheap,” San replied easily, reaching up with a free hand to run his thumb along the beauty mark just under Wooyoung’s eye, trailing his fingers down until he got to his soulmate’s chin, tipping it up. His fingers gripped Wooyoung’s chin with a tighter hold, smirking slightly when he felt his soulmate’s breath hitch, the puff of air hot against his fingertips. “I think this mouth of yours would look much better with something wrapped around it…” His smirk widened when he felt Wooyoung’s sharp intake of breath. “I meant a drink. — What did you think I meant?”

Wooyoung bit his lip, fighting back a tremble as San’s thumb lightly ghosted over his bottom lip, forcing him to release it. The stickiness of the gloss painted his soulmate’s black-painted nail, and carefully, almost languidly, San pulled his hand away and licked the gloss off, easily sending Wooyoung’s soul into the stratosphere in the process. “Is this what you do with all your clients?” he asked, breathless.

Sinfully, and clearly being possessed by some kind of demon, San’s purple eyes glinted in the dim lighting inside _God’s Menu_ as he licked away the rest of the excess gloss from his fingertips. “I can’t help myself with you,” San murmured, tongue running along his tinted lips and that damn lip ring. “You make me want to break all the rules tonight. But we’ve got to be good… you’re not going to misbehave tonight, are you, Wooyoung?” He tapped Wooyoung’s lips with a tattooed finger.

Fuck.

He forgot that San knew about _that_.

“What are you going to do if I do?” Wooyoung asked, a glut for punishment as he nipped at San’s finger, swirling his tongue over the painted nail.

San’s violet-hued eyes darkened for a moment as his lips curled into a smirk and _fuck_ , it was one of Wooyoung’s favourite expressions on his boyfriend. He moved his hand from Wooyoung’s face and leaned back, the smirk being replaced by a cheshire smile. “I think we should try one of BamBam-hyung’s famous drinks,” San said, ignoring Wooyoung’s question as he plucked up the tablet from the table. “He only makes certain ones at certain times and it would be a shame if you missed out on the Valentine’s Day special.”

“H-Huh?”

“Mm?”

Wooyoung narrowed his eyes; so that was his game. “What drink do you suggest?” he asked, sitting back and crossing his legs again, bratty attitude on full display. The Bengal slid his foot down across the floor, sliding the side of his expensive dress shoe up and along San’s leg. He could feel the Black Cat still, and a triumphant smirk creased Wooyoung's lips. Got him.

“I think _Wow_ would be good… it’s a bit spicier than the other drinks, a bit more _dangerous_ , but BamBam-hyung is a Potions Master. He can make almost anything,” San replied easily, turning the tablet around to show Wooyoung. “And it seems you’re feeling a bit peckish, so I think it’s about time we treat you, ne, Young-ah?”

(This motherfucker,) Wooyoung thought darkly. Whereas his other partners would get angry with him and give him what he wanted - so sue him, he wanted to be treated a bit roughly and punished - San knew the only way to deal with Wooyoung’s bratty behaviour was to counter it with gentlemanly conduct; it’d drive the Bengal insane. “Let me see it, then,” he said sulkily, snatching the tablet from San’s tattooed hand. The Bengal raised his chin defiantly as he ran a hand through his hair, making sure San got an eyeful of his undercut. After making some very strategic choices and hitting the order button, Wooyoung placed the tablet on the table, a smug look of superiority on his face.

To his irritation, San laughed airily and _fondly_ , putting a hand over his mouth. “I love you,” he said, shaking his head.

Wooyoung’s face heated up and he hunched up his shoulders in embarrassment. “Shut up,” he mumbled. “You’re not supposed to be fighting back like this.”

“Oh? You want me to lie back and let you fuss at me, mm? Wooyoung?” San murmured, tongue flicking out to slide over his lip ring. “I don’t know if that’s _really_ want you want right now… I know what you want later, but you’ll have to be good if you want to get it.”

Fucking hell.

San was a _demon_.

In all honesty, if Wooyoung was asked later to recount his Valentine’s Date with San at _God’s Menu_ , he wouldn’t know what the fuck to say; his mind had been effectively turned into a lust-filled haze of want and desire, expertly orchestrated by one Choi San. He’d ordered the chocolate-covered strawberries as a joke, but his soul left his body when San melted the chocolate with his breath and drizzled the chocolate along Wooyoung’s lips only to kiss it away seconds later with a sinful kiss.

He’d wanted San’s hosting skill all to himself, and in true Jung Wooyoung Fashion, didn’t know how badly it’d backfire on him until it was happening. Flashbacks to after his birthday dinner with his parents when he’d asked San to fuck him wearing the custom Dior suit his mother had gotten him. Wooyoung had been so dazed, so easily swept away on the tide that was Choi San that he didn’t realize that San was the one that was driving them and not to Wooyoung’s dorm. “Where…?”

“We’re going to my place,” San said, violet-hued eyes pinned to the snowy February road. “I have a feeling you’re going to be a bit… _vocal_ tonight. I don’t have any neighbours at the moment, so I thought we’d take advantage of it.”

That snapped Wooyoung out of it; he’d never seen San’s apartment before and the Black Cat had always described it as a ‘shitty shoebox’. But the neighbourhood they were driving too wasn’t too bad, if anything, Hongjoong’s apartment in Itaewon was in a worse spot. Instantly, he took San’s hand when offered as they reached, easily led along into the apartment building. Curious and impatient, Wooyoung nipped and bit at San’s neck, particularly at his favourite tattoo - a gothic/Tim Burton style drawing of Jack the Ripper. “I wanna see!”

San’s slender, ring-adorned fingers slid up Wooyoung’s neck, trimmed nails scratching purposefully just at his nape. A smirk curled at the Black Cat’s lips as his boyfriend crumpled against him, a surprised moan leaving his lips as they rode the elevator to San’s apartment. He kept a firm hold of Wooyoung’s neck - never applying more than the faintest amounts of pressure, knowing exactly how much to use to have Wooyoung pliant in his hold - even as he deftly opened his apartment door with an old key.

The apartment _was_ small, but it was far from the drafty, falling apart mess that San kept describing it as. Everything in the apartment had a purpose, and San had made little additions here and there for storage, even crafting a desk by affixing a counter to the wall by the bed. His closet was small, and filled with simple black outfits, and his hots suits wrapped nicely in suit bags and hung up on silk hangers. The countertop in the bathroom had expertly arranged cosmetics on a compact organizer, the medicine cabinet mostly bare except for the essentials. There was a small kitchenette, a small living room area and not much else.

Interrupting Wooyoung’s curious exploration was San coming up behind Wooyoung and sharply biting his neck, mere millimetres away from where he’d put a mating mark. The Bengal could feel the smirk pressed against his instantly flushed skin, a whimper tumbling out past his shimmery lips. “How did you like being hosted?” he asked with a sinful murmur.

Wooyoung felt his eyes roll back into his head as San’s pierced lip kissed and suckled at his piercings, slender fingers deftly peeling him out of his winter coat and letting it fall carelessly to the floor. “That was… just for me, right?” came the Bengal’s breathless question right back.

“Just for you,” San whispered, his voice dropping an octave to that register that makes Wooyoung’s gut churn with excitement. “I flirt pretty badly with our customers, but they know that I’m not going anywhere with them, it’s just a game to play to pass the hours. They want the thrill of dating a bad boy without dating him for real. Nobody really wants to have a Black Cat out in the daylight. We’re just a dirty secret to everyone… been making a career out of exploiting that.”

The Bengal’s eyebrows furrowed together and he turned around in San’s arms, a frown creasing his glossy lips. “San…” Carefully, Wooyoung reached up and carefully disconnected the sparkling chain from San’s lip ring and earring, slipping it into the Black Cat’s suit pocket. “They’re cowards. Anybody who doesn’t want someone like _you_ all the time… someone who loves with their whole body, with their soul… who cares if you’re a Black Cat?” He huffed and pulled his soulmate in for a deep kiss. “Doesn’t matter what they want anyway; you’re mine. They can’t have you.”

Something passed in San’s eyes that Wooyoung couldn’t identify, but it soon melted away to pure affection and love, the Black Cat leaning down to capture his boyfriend’s lips into a passionate kiss that made extensive use of the older man’s skill. Wooyoung couldn’t help the moan that was swallowed up by his soulmate, their fingers now more insistent, now filled with one purpose and one purpose only - to get each other as bare as possible. They’d worry about where their clothes fell in the morning.

With a grunt, Wooyoung found himself naked and on San’s bed, the cool sheets refreshing against his heated skin. He watched with hungry eyes as San pulled the rest of his clothing off, adding it to the piles strewn across the floor of his small apartment. Inch by inch of gorgeous, tanned, tattooed skin suddenly became available to him, and he was addicted to the power he had to touch this whenever he wanted.

“Come here already,” Wooyoung huffed.

“You’re so impatient,” San muttered, but did as bid, the mattress squeaking as he lowered himself overtop his lover, eyes dark with desire. “I had a whole _plan_ and everything… well. I can still do part of it.” Despite another whine from the Bengal, San moved enough to open his beside table, pulling what he needed out of it. He clapped a hand to Wooyoung’s bare hip, smirking when his soulmate let out a startled moan. “You’ll get your punishment, but you’re not going to like it.”

Wooyoung licked at the gloss on his lips, a wicked grin parting them. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Sannie.”

There was an almost imperceptible pause in San’s movements as he held the bottle of lube, and if Wooyoung wasn’t so dialled in on every movement his soulmate made, he wouldn’t have seen San’s tattooed fingers grip the bottle just a fraction tighter. “Fuck,” San whispered under his breath, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Then we’re here for a good time not a long time,” Wooyoung countered, tugging his boyfriend down so he could chase his lips, capturing them and drowning in hazy lust that surrounds him each time they touch. A gasp falls from his lips when he feels a slick, cool finger press where he wants it the most, head tilting back and a high whine piercing the heady silence.

He knew how much San loved to take apart with his fingers, loved to watch Wooyoung fall apart with nothing more than his slicked up fingers and the sinfully low voice he only used with him. At first he’d fight it tooth and nail, but slowly, Wooyoung came to crave it, came to crave the time that San took with him, how careful and loving he was; he always treated Wooyoung like he was precious.

“You’re gorgeous, Wooyoung,” San whispered, his voice rough with arousal and tinted with painfully deep love. “Look at you… you’re incredible. It was so hard not to pull you into the backroom and take you right there… when did you get your hair done?”

Wooyoung choked back a moan as San’s fingers brushed up against his prostate - fucking hell, San was getting better and better at finding it in one shot - and felt his eyes roll back into his head at the sinfully slow ministrations. “Y-Yesterday,” he admitted, biting his lip. “W-Wanted it to be a surprise…”

San cursed under his breath, sweat beginning to pool at his hairline, sliding down his razor sharp jawline and down to his neck, to the starburst of freckles that Wooyoung loved to nip and suck at - especially when it was inappropriate. San’s neck tattoos that delicately lay on either side of his nape framed the freckles so beautifully, and Wooyoung was drunk with the realization that he was the only one who would get to see them up close like this. “You’re unreal,” San hissed, working a bit faster than normal to work his boyfriend open.

“C’mon,” Wooyoung urged, voice broken with need. “I’m ready, _please_.”

“You want it like this?”

“What was your plan?”

San licks his lips and to Wooyoung’s surprise, pulls him up and silently gets ready while Wooyoung looks on in intense curiosity. Once he’s rolled the condom on and gotten ready at the corner edge of the bed, he gestures for Wooyoung to sit in his lap. His other hand pats the bed, causing the mattress to bounce slightly and it all clicks for the Bengal. A wicked expression makes its home on Wooyoung’s handsome features and he all too eagerly gets onto San’s lap, back to chest and lowers himself home.

The burn is delicious, and Wooyoung lets out a breathy sigh, head tilted back to rest in the crook of San’s neck and well defined trapezius muscle. He can feel the Black Cat’s rough hands slide up his skin, spreading his legs apart so they rest out side of San’s, spread open and filthy; right up Wooyoung’s alley. He’d never been so open and vulnerable, but with San, it felt right. He wasn’t going to mock him, maybe tease him out in public a little, but there was nothing that the Black Cat would do other than support and love him.

Wooyoung really was lucky.

“Ready?” San whispered into his ear, his voice low. “Hold on tight; you’re really going to feel this.”

“Mm, want it,” Wooyoung confirmed, biting his lip. The gloss is all but gone, kissed and bitten away, and as San bucks his hips up with an added boost from the mattress’ edge, Wooyoung’s soul leaves his body.

 _Oh_.

San’s hands are tight on his waist, digging in nice and tight as he lets the mattress do the bulk of the work, and getting to reap all the rewards. “You sound amazing,” San practically growls in his ear, “be as loud as you want, Woo, no one’s going to hear us.” While that wasn’t technically true, Wooyoung was too pleasure-dumb and drunk on love to care. He reached back with an arm to anchor into San’s midnight black hair, tugging him into a messy kiss as they moved, the creak of the mattress and the rickety frame adding to the filthiness of it all.

Wooyoung could feel San’s smirk against his lips and knew he had only seconds before the Black Cat put the next part of his plan into action. He slid his tattooed hands up Wooyoung’s arms and pulled them down and back, holding him by the wrists, causing a whine to leave his soulmate’s lips. “You’re a demon,” Wooyoung moaned, biting his lip hard enough to pierce the skin.

The chuckle he felt puff against his flushed neck, right where San bit him earlier was beginning to drive him insane. All he wanted was to get railed, and by God, was he getting that in spades. The exertion of moving was solely on the bed’s mattress, and San was an expert in using it and his hold on Wooyoung’s wrists to pull the most obnoxious moans from his soulmate. “Takes one to know one,” San countered, finally starting to sound as wrecked as Wooyoung. “My _gorgeous_ soulmate… no one gets you like this. Just _me_.”

Wooyoung can only loll his head back against San’s shoulder, mouth hanging open as his eyes squeeze shut, so very close to his climax. He dug his nails into his palms, eyes flashing open when San bites at his favourite spot, sucking a bright and nasty purple bruise there. It’s not deep enough to mate, but the idea that San is playing as dangerous a game as Wooyoung is, that’s he’s as far gone for Wooyoung as Wooyoung is for him drives the Bengal headlong into his orgasm.

Pleasure wracked his slender frame, abdomen and muscles flexing from the dizzying heights and cresting fall that was his climax. Wooyoung whined high in his throat as he felt San’s nails dig into his wrists, the heavy clack of their bracelets hitting one another was enough for the Black Cat to join him in bliss, biting down hard on his shoulder to hide the guttural groan that tore itself from his throat.

It’s the fucking hottest thing Wooyoung’s ever heard and he wants it tattooed in his ear canals forever.

The high is slow to disappear, and San finally releases Wooyoung’s wrists, wrapping his tattooed arms around the Bengal were-cat. He moves to bury his face in Wooyoung’s neck, placing soft kisses to the love bite he’d left, whispering ‘I love you’ over and over against the younger man’s skin. Wooyoung whispered an ‘I love you’ back before carefully moving off San’s lap; if he didn’t move now, they’d be gross as hell later and he didn’t want to ruin the mood that badly.

Later, when they’ve cleaned up and wrapped themselves up in San’s bed, Wooyoung brushed some of his soulmate’s long black hair out of his violet eyes. “I think you should keep working at _God’s Menu_ ,” Wooyoung said, breaking the silence. “Like… permanently.”

San’s eyes snapped open and he looked down at Wooyoung, who seemed content to bury himself against San, head resting underneath the Black Cat’s chin. “What?”

“It’s a good place,” Wooyoung explained, tilting his head up and moving so he could look his boyfriend in the eyes. “I think… you can belong in two places. With us, and with them. You don’t have to… choose one or the other.”

The Black Cat’s eyes widen considerably, and he reaches down to take Wooyoung’s hand in his, squeezing it. “You’re okay with that? What I did with you, that was just… that was just for you,” he scrambled to explain, worry suddenly creeping into his voice. “It’s not like that with the normal clients, I promise—”

A smile creased Wooyoung’s kiss-bitten lips and he flicked San’s forehead. “I trust you,” he replied simply. “You’re you, you’re not Sooyun. We’re… we have a long ways to go, but I think _God’s Menu_ is … it’s a really good place. They really love you.”

“Woo…” San’s smile widened and he hugged his soulmate closer. “I’ll always come back to you.”

Wooyoung smirked and stole a kiss from San’s tinted lips. “You better. Otherwise I’m really going toget Hyunjin’s number and we’re going to gossip about you.”

“Please never mention Hyunjin while we’re in bed.”

With a devilish giggle, Wooyoung nipped at San’s neck, teasing his mating mark spot once more as he held San’s hand tightly. “I love you, Choi San.”

“I love you too, Jung Wooyoung.”

They were a mess, they were loud and they were on a long road to a normal relationship, but neither of them would trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to stay hydrated! ;D 
> 
> how we feeling, WooSan nation?


	2. TaeKook

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> San brings his mentor, Jungkook, to God's Menu at Chan's behest, for the Gothic Valentine's Day they have planned. There, he finds friends he hasn't seen in years and the courage to take a step he never thought he would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jungkook and Taehyung’s story is in Parts 1 and 2. They make an appearance in Part 3 (WooSan - Chapter 1 and 4), and in Part 4 (SeongJoong - Chapter 6 as a brief cameo). 
> 
> PS: I LIED THIS CHAPTER IS CHONKY TOO
> 
> PPS: PLS ENJOY :D

Jungkook sighed and shook his head slightly, trying to get the snowflakes to get out of his long eyelashes without rubbing his face. The sky was blue and grey, painted over with clouds he couldn’t see, but he could definitely feel the snow falling as he and San walked towards _God’s Menu_. He shifted and adjusted his grip on his photography bag as Namjoon suggested he take his equipment with him if he was going to the Host Bar; one never knew when an opportunity to sharpen his skills would come up. 

He’d settled into his skin in the time since he first met San at his birthday party on Halloween Night, and Jungkook wondered if having someone to teach put everything into perspective. His own mentor, Kwon Jiyong, mentioned something to that effect years go but at the time, he hadn’t put much stock in it; Jiyong would say some pretty mental stuff and brush it off like it was nothing. Jiyong was a force of nature, coming in like a clap of thunder and disappearing like smoke - in a way, it made sense given that he was literally a megastar in the music industry. Jungkook smiled as a particular memory of going component shopping with Jiyong, and how he easily charmed the shopkeeper with a brilliant smile and a wink. 

He reminded Jungkook a lot of San, in that respect. 

“So tell me why I’m agreeing to help out at a Host Bar,” Jungkook said, seeing the Bar come up in the near distance. “And please tell me just how long you’ve been a host and you’ve mentioned _none of that_ to me. I thought we were close; I’m your mentor. Your teacher, your colleague, your _friend_ , Choi San.” 

San smiled sheepishly. “About the same reason why you didn’t mention that G-Dragon taught you how to cast hexes.” 

Jungkook narrowed his eyes slightly and poked his dongsaeng in the side. “Spill the beans otherwise I’m going back home to my nice, warm apartment and my soulmate who is badgering me about what secret for Valentine’s Day I’m keeping form him.” He laughed as he pulled out his phone, as just as he mentioned Taehyung, the model sent him a text message.

 **Taehyungie [9:45 a.m.]  
** Kookie  
You know I love you, right?  
I can keep a secret

 **Kookie Monster [9:46 a.m.]  
** lol  
Tae, it’s a surprise  
It won’t be a surprise if I tell you

 **Taehyung [9:47 a.m.]  
** ☹  
You’re so mean 

**Kookie Monster [9:50 a.m.]  
** Here, Sannie says hello  
[img attached]

 **Taehyungie [9:50 a.m.]  
** Why is San with you??  
What are you two planning? 

**Kookie Monster [9:51 a.m.]  
** A *surprise*  
Love you 

**Taehyungie [9:52 a.m.]  
** This is a targeted crime against me and I hate it  
… love you <3 

“It’s not really that crazy,” San protested, trying to get away from his hyung’s incessant poking. Jungkook smirked and with his height advantage, easily got the younger Black Cat into a headlock. “It isn’t! I used to work as a Host until about a year ago! I worked at a place called _Aphrodite_ , and I was at _God’s Menu_ back when it was called _Chan’s Room_.” 

Jungkook eyed him and gave him a teasing noogie before releasing San with a smirk. “Making good use of that pretty face, huh?” He rubbed his neck. “I don’t know if I could flirt with strangers; that takes a certain amount of guts.” 

“It’s a little weird at first,” San admitted as they neared the Bar, “but it’s really just a conversation with someone, and giving them a bit of an escape from their normal, boring lives. It was kind of my way of taking ownership of being a Black Cat, you know? I’d make people _pay_ to see me.” 

Jungkook’s greenish-yellow eyes widened and he tilted his head slightly as San knocked on the large double doors. “I never thought about doing that,” he murmured thoughtfully. He smiled. “That’s very you, Sannie.” 

The double doors flung open and there stood BamBam, bringing his long arms around Jungkook and San both, hugging them tightly with a loud yell. “Yo! You two are the last ones to arrive! What took you so long?” 

“It was me,” Jungkook said, raising a hand as he endured BamBam’s nuzzles and hugs despite not knowing this man at all. “I was having a tough time breaking away from the soulmate; he was intent on trying to figure out what this was all about.” He smiled as BamBam pulled away. “I’m Jeon Jungkook; it’s nice to meet you.” 

BamBam grinned and bowed. “BamBam. Ah, you’re the one that Jiyong-hyung taught! Wicked. Come on in!” He pulled the doors back further and stepped back, letting Jungkook and San in. “Yah, Channie! Everyone’s here now!” He grunted and closed the doors behind the two remaining Black Cats. 

Coming over from a long table that was filled with people - including Hoseok - was a man a little shorter than Jungkook, covered in tattoos and draped in black, with a wide, bright smile and dimples that reminded the Black Cat of Namjoon. Jungkook’s eyes widened as recognition dawned, and it was clear that the man recognized him too as he stopped short in his walk to point a finger at Jungkook the same time Jungkook pointed at him. 

“Bun!”

“Roo!” 

“…the fuck?” San asked, speaking up for everyone who was now watching the interaction with great interest, particularly Minho and Changbin. “Do you two know each other?” 

Chan put his hands to his face and let out a surprised but happy shout, pulling Jungkook into a tight hug - one that Jungkook returned. “I can’t believe it! I haven’t seen you in years! Look at you… I’m so glad you’re all right.” He had his hands on either side of Jungkook’s face, long fingers stroking the younger man’s cheeks. 

Jungkook’s nose crinkled as he did the same to Chan, poking at his dimples. “You look amazing, Roo! I really didn’t think you’d be the type to get tattoos.” 

“Same to you!” Chan laughed, shaking his head. “You were so jumpy that we all thought you’d get a bunch of jagged lines on you instead of actual tattoos because you couldn’t stay still.” He turned to Minho and Changbin. “Bun and I were always paired together when we worked for Old Man Crow.” 

Jungkook’s eyes widened when he saw Minho and Changbin, a wide, bunny-tooth smile parting his lips further. “Lee Know! Spear!” he exclaimed softly, setting his backpack down and hurrying over to them. “You guys are okay… I was so worried something happened after I had to leave.”

“Hyung…” Minho pushed himself out of his seat, surprising the others when he pulled Jungkook into a tight hug. “We thought someone had taken you out.” 

Jungkook shook his head as he hugged Minho back, nuzzling him gently. “Someone did wanna take me out, and with the Old Man dead and Roo gone, I knew my days were numbered. I wish I could’ve taken you guys with me, but the guy that took over…”

Changbin rubbed the back of his neck, surprised when Jungkook suddenly hugged him with his free arm, pulling him in close. “Yeah, he had eyes everywhere; if you wanted to disappear, you couldn’t have done it with him keeping an eye on us.” He shook his head. “We don’t blame you, hyung. I wish we could’ve gone with you, but… hey, we met up eventually.”

Minho frowned. “That asshole was probably the one that wanted to take you out; he was trying to take out anybody that was loyal to the Old Man.” 

The Black Cat sighed and scratched his cheek with a tattooed finger. “Probably; he really didn’t like Roo and I know he hated me because everybody would listen to us and not him. You guys are okay now?”

The Birman were-cat nodded. “We broke away not long after you left and we’ve been keeping to this side of town. A couple years ago, we ran into Chan-hyung and started working here. We run security and host.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrows as a grin came to his lips, causing both Minho and Changbin to look embarrassed. A high-pitched laugh escaped the Black Cat and his nose scrunched up, and he put a tattooed hand over his mouth. “You two!? _Hosting?_ I am _so_ glad I came now. You gotta show me how you two _host_.”

Changbin groaned and shook his head wildly. “No, no way!”

Raven watched them carefully; chin resting on her loosely curled fist. Seeing that everyone else was looking at her, most likely for answers, she closed her eyes briefly as a faint smile creased her lips. “Old Man Crow was a retired gangster, he was the Head of a subsidiary family in the Park Conglomerate. He ran a protection racket in the city, loved to circumvent the corrupted officials in the government. He liked to paint himself like Robin Hood, but he was more like the Duke of Nottingham – helpful, but for a price. He would recruit street kids from all lifestyles and use them as runners, escorts, errand boys, information dealers, all sorts of little jobs. Strangely enough, working for the Old Man was a safe haven for were-cats; he employed a lot of them.”

Chan turned and blinked at Raven. “You knew him too?”

“Old Man Crow is rather infamous,” Raven replied simply, a rueful smile on her lips. “It would be worrying if I _didn’t_ know about him.”

Accepting the simple answer and knowing better than to press further, Chan turned to Jungkook and smiled. “Here, I’ll introduce everyone. First, the Hosts of _God’s Menu_ : there’s me, Felix, Hyunjin our Top Host, Seungmin, Jisung, and Jeongin. You already know Minho and Changbin. Seonghwa is our newest host, and he’s close friends with San.” He pointed them out in kind, with the mentioned hosts raising their hands once called. “For the Black Cat contingent, you already know Hoseok-hyung and this is BamBam, he trained with me and Hoseok-hyung at Miss. Raven’s estate. Speaking of, this is Raven, she runs… well, I suppose we could call it a Black Cat sanctuary?”

“It’s an Adoption Center at this rate,” Raven supplied with a laugh, shaking her head.

Chan laughed himself. “You and me both. I’m surprised you were able to get Taemin-hyung and Jiyong-ssi to come.”

“We invited ourselves along,” Taemin said blithely. “We won’t be able to be here for the actual day, but we wanted to have a little fun.”

Jungkook blinked and turned, seeing Jiyong at the far end of the table, raising a ring-adorned hand. “Jiyong-hyung!” he exclaimed. “How long have you been sitting there?”

“Ah, like, the whole time?” Jiyong replied, waving his hand dismissively. “It was cute seeing you meet your old friends again. You made me think you were all alone all the time, but here you are, with cute little friends like Minho, Changbin and Channie. To think, I was going to adopt you with how you kept looking at me with those big eyes of yours.”

Defensively, Jungkook raised his shoulders. “When I met you, I was!”

San blinked and looked at his mentor. “You should take him up on his offer. You could get taken along on tour and do his promotional photography.”

“If Jiyong-hyung doesn’t take you, I will,” Taemin replied, smiling mischievously. “You’re so cute; I think I could put you in my pocket.”

Raven snorted. “I think he could bench press you; I know I can.”

“Ooh. Even better.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “No one’s adopting me.” He looked over at Hoseok. “I had no idea you trained with Roo, hyung! – wait, this is the Chan you were talking about?” Jungkook tilted his head. “You mentioned a Chan and Felix when we were planning my birthday party…”

Hosoek grinned and nodded. “Yep! That’s Channie and this is Felix!” He pointed to the Lynx were-cat, who waved happily.

“This makes so much more sense now,” Jungkook said with a sheepish laugh, rubbing his neck. “You kept talking about a Chan and he sounded a lot like Roo, but I thought there was no way they were the same person.”

Chan laughed. “Same person. But I know everyone’s busy so I’ll get down to brass tacks with this event.” He waited until San and Jungkook took their spots, with San sitting beside Seonghwa, and Jungkook sitting in between Hoseok and Raven. Chan took his spot at the head of the table, and placed a black covered notebook on the table in front of him. “The gist of the idea is that we will be doing a Gothic, Black Cat inspired aesthetic for Valentine’s Day. We’ve been finding that these types of theme nights are really popular, as it’s so out of the ordinary for a Host Bar to do.”

Hoseok leaned forward, eyes bright as he fussed with his lip ring. “This is cool and all Channie, but like, outside you and Sannie, none of us have Hosted before.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be doing appointments on your own; I’ll have you paired with a more experienced host,” Chan promised.

Jungkook grinned. “I want Binnie or Minho.”

“He said an _experienced_ host,” Hyunjin pointed out, dancing out of his chair and avoiding Minho’s smack. He hid behind Jeongin’s chair and stuck out his tongue, eyes widening when the Birman were-cat made a move to get up after him, letting out an undignified squeak.

“I’m not going to save you,” Jeongin pointed out.

Hyunjin huffed and ruffled Jeongin’s bluish-gray hair. “Do you have an idea of who you’d pair with who, hyung?”

Chan hummed as he looked out at the table. “Sannie and Jungkook-ssi for sure. Jisung and Hoseok-hyung, I think their energies would mesh really well… BamBam-hyung could probably take appointments on his own; he’s been here long enough. Hyunjin, I’ll ask you to help Raven-noona. We’ll work out when you guys can come by and do some crash-course training but the paired host will take the bulk of the work guiding the appointment.”

Jungkook tilted his head. “So we’re like an attraction? People actually… _want_ to be seen with Black Cats?” He couldn’t fathom it.

“Exactly,” Chan confirmed. “It’s a bit… freeing, isn’t it? Making people _want_ to be with you so much they’ll pay for it? As a Black Cat, I definitely think that wasn’t going to be the case. But it… hmm, it’s like reclaiming our reputation for ourselves.”

Slowly, the other Black Cat nodded. He and Chan were only a few weeks apart in their birthdays, with Chan’s birthday on October 13th and his on October 31st, but he always felt a kinship with the other man since they were alley cats. Different in the way he felt close to Hoseok, but the same in a way. “San was saying the same thing,” Jungkook said, looking thoughtful. “I mainly cast Hexes, but I know how to make potions too, is there a way I can help out with that?”

Chan’s eyes brightened and he looked over to BamBam, who grinned and nodded in agreement. “BamBam-hyung is our bartender and makes all our specialty drinks, using potion ingredients. I know he could definitely use an extra pair of hands to make some special ones for Valentine’s Day.”

“Kook is definitely the man for the job,” Jiyong piped up, leaning back in his seat. “I’d say he’d have a dual speciality if it wasn’t for him not listening to instructions.”

Jungkook huffed. “Are you still not letting that go? So I mixed a pinch too much _Dragon’s Hair_ that one time.” He folded his arms and sat back. “That potion worked _better_ because of it.” He looked back at his camera backpack, and remembering what Namjoon said, shot a furtive glance at Chan. “I work with Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung at _Bangtan Photography_ ; I could also pitch in with the promo work if you need it; I’m always looking for more practice.”

Chan’s eyes widened as something clicked. “Ah, that’s right! I saw you at the first anniversary night with Namjoon-hyung; can’t believe I didn’t recognize you then… then again, I was high on painkillers… - Yes, of course! I won’t say no to extra help. We can pay your proper rate, so don’t worry about that.” He laughed. “I think we’ve worked with everyone at _Bangtan_ now…”

Felix laughed himself and nodded. “Yoongi-hyung did our head shots, and Namjoon-hyung did the music video for the song; now Jungkook-ssi is going to be doing our Valentine’s Day promo? That’s the trifecta right there.”

“Leave the decoration to Jiyong, Taemin and I,” Raven spoke up, lightly tapping her nails on the tabletop. “I’ll take care of the costuming as well; there’ll need to be a certain kind of cohesion with the hosts if this is going to work. The usual look isn’t going to work.”

Chan smiled. “That’s right, you have _Hyperion_.” He bowed deeply. “That would be a really big help, thank you, noona.”

Raven nodded slightly. “Not at all, it will also be good exposure for the Brand; this Bar is very popular, after all.” She looked over at Hyunjin. “I won’t have the time to come here to run through the necessary training, so are you comfortable with coming to my estate?”

Hyunjin blinked but quickly nodded and bowed deeply. “Yeah – Yes. That’s works out great, noona. Thank you.” He’d heard Jeongin’s stories of Raven’s estate and honestly, he was curious as hell about it.

“You’re really lucky, it’s a beautiful place,” Seonghwa said, smiling.

San blinked. “Wait; have _you_ been there, Seonghwa-hyung?”

Seonghwa paused for the briefest of moments and shook his head slightly. “Ah, no, I’ve just heard stories… -- from Jeongin.”

Raven chuckled softly. “Don’t worry; he won’t be mad about it if San knows.”

“Wha…?” San was about to ask more, but was cut off by Chan going into further detail about how the night was going to go, and more importantly, the coordination of bringing in their significant others, should they want to, for the last appointment of the night.

Jungkook listened intently, and found that it was actually a lot easier than he thought; he and San hung out a lot anyway, this would just be taking the place of their training. He turned to his protégé, and gave him a little nudge with his elbow. “Let’s meet up at your place for this crash course; Tae’s got a sixth sense when it comes to coming in when I’ve got a surprise planned.”

San looked amused. “Why don’t you just ask his Manager to keep him busy when we need to practice?” He laughed as a look of dawning realization crossed Jungkook’s handsome features. “We can use your studio. It’s quieter in there and it’ll mimic the one-on-one appointment pretty well.”

“Okay, that works… just let me text Jimin-ssi,” Jungkook murmured, pulling out his phone.

 **Jungkook [11:01 a.m.]  
** Jiminie  
Is Tae with you

 **Jimin [11:03 a.m.]  
** If you mean ‘is he reading over my shoulder’  
No  
What’s up?

 **Jungkook [11:04 a.m.]  
** Perfect  
This is about the Valentine’s Day surprise I’m working on  
When I have Sannie over  
Can you make sure Tae’s occupied?  
I’ll give you all the information I can

 **Jimin [11:05 a.m.]  
** Sure, but what do I get out of it? 

Jungkook snorted and smiled down at his phone; typical Jimin.

 **Jungkook [11:05 a.m.]  
** I know the owner of God’s Menu  
If you want  
I can ask him to fit you in for a dinner date  
With Namjoon-hyung

 **Jimin [11:10 a.m.]  
** …  
Fine  
You win 

**Jungkook [11:10 a.m.]  
** I’ll text you when Sannie will be over  
Thank you, hyung~

 **Jimin [11:11 a.m.]  
** Yeah yeah 

San snickered as Jungkook slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Sometimes it really pays to know people, huh, hyung?”

Jungkook laughed and nodded. “Now for the hard part about asking Roo if he can fit Jimin-ssi and Namjoon-hyung in.”

“Probably not for Valentine’s Day but he could fit them in another time,” San agreed.

The rest of the meeting was hammering out details on everyone’s availability; particularly Jungkook’s when it came to working with BamBam on the cocktail menu. He quickly exchanged numbers with Chan, off-handedly mentioning that if there was an opening for the restaurant portion in the near future to let him know. “If they’re okay with a date in March, I can definitely fit them in,” Chan promised, nodding.

“Yeah, that’ll work,” Jungkook confirmed, looking at his phone. “Tae’s got a bit of a break in March and Namjoon-hyung can take a day off in there now that I’m there to help shoulder the load.”

Chan smiled and clapped a hand on Jungkook’s shoulder. “It’s really good to see you again, Bun – no, Jungkook. Be sure to drop by and visit; I know Minho and Changbin will want to see you again.”

Jungkook nodded. “I still need to talk to you about the photos, so why don’t I come down tomorrow morning?” He paused and smiled. “If you can manage to keep the Valentine’s Day thing a secret, I can even bring Tae.”

At that, the older Black Cat’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Yeah, of course, mate! I’ll tell Binnie and Minho to come in around 10, does that work? We’ll have some time before the lunch service.”

Quickly checking Tae’s schedule in his text message thread with the Tiger were-cat, Jungkook nodded. “Perfect, that’ll work; we’ve got about an hour and half, two hours before he’s got to go to a fitting for a drama he’s going to be in.”

Chan’s smile widened at that. “He’s really moving up in the world, huh?”

“He’s earned it,” Jungkook agreed with a smile. “I’m going to do the promo stills for it. Didn’t think I’d be doing fashion photography, but after doing _Vogue Korea_ , I guess it makes sense.”

“Okay, you’re going to have to tell me about _that_ later,” Chan said with a laugh. “See you tomorrow, Jungkook.”

Jungkook nodded. “See you later, Chan.” He paused, and gestured for the older Black Cat to come in closer, then took a quick series of photos – laughing when he saw that Changbin and Minho were in the background, making goofy faces. “Bin, Min, I’ll see you guys tomorrow!”

Minho nodded, a rare smile on his lips. “See you tomorrow, hyung.” Changbin nodded and waved, watching as Jungkook left with San and Hoseok in tow.

Hoseok threw an arm around Jungkook’s neck with a grin. “I didn’t know you knew Channie!” he said. “And you worked for a street gang? So many _surprises_ , Jungkookie!”

Jungkook looked embarrassed as they left the Bar. “It’s not like I was fighting anybody – no, that’s not totally true – but I was mostly a runner. Nobody could catch me so I was always running things back and forth between the Old Man and his contacts. I try not to think about what exactly I was running, but … it helped me survive on the street.”

“Gotta do what you gotta do,” San agreed. “Jisung and I would do all sorts of shit to stay alive. I’m sure Hobi-hyung was the same.”

Their hyung nodded as he continued to hang off Jungkook’s broader shoulder. “No judgment here!”

Jungkook smiled; his life had changed so much in the last handful of years that he didn’t think that it could change any further but he’d been proven wrong once again. The smile faded from his lips as the reality of what the next morning might bring sunk in. “Do you think … Taehyung’s going to think less of me, because of what I did back then?”

Hoseok and San exchanged a look before they both shook their heads. “I don’t think so,” Hoseok answered first, squeezing Jungkook gently.

“If he does, he’s an idiot.”

“Sannie!” Hoseok chastised.

San shrugged. “What? I’m sure we’d all love to do things above board to survive but sometimes shit sucks and you’ve gotta do some less-than-awesome things to ensure you’re not dead in a gutter. I’m sure Taehyung-ssi isn’t that type of person, but if he is, then… well, I know you two can work through it.” He rubbed his neck. “What I’m trying to say is: he knows you haven’t the smoothest ride through life. I’m sure it’ll be a shock but he’s a good guy. He’ll be with you a hundred percent.”

Nodding, Hoseok gave Jungkook a gentle nuzzle. “Sannie’s right; TaeTae’s a good guy and he’s stupidly in love with you. Now let me ask you a question – did you think any less of him when you learned about him and Yang?”

Jungkook blinked owlishly at him. “Of course not.”

“There you go! You learned a really ugly part of his past and you stood by him. This is… not quite the same, but it’s the same, you know?” Hoseok tapped Jungkook’s nose. “Trust him.”

Slowly, Jungkook nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

~ * ~

As he parked Taehyung’s Mercedes SLK 350 close to _God’s Menu_ , Jungkook could feel Taehyung’s eyes staring a hole into his head. “What?” he asked finally, a smile on his lips.

“Is _this_ the surprise?” Taehyung asked, feigning suspicion but Jungkook could see the beginnings of a smile tug at his soulmate’s lips and the sparkle of excitement in the Tiger’s hazel eyes.

Jungkook laughed and shook his head. “No. That’s for Valentine’s Day and you still don’t get to know about it early. I wanted to bring you here to meet some old friends of mine… they’re, um, they’re really important to me and I just found them again after a long time and… I want you to meet them.” He paused. “If you want to.”

The Black Cat chewed his bottom lip as he watched the other were-cat, whose face showed every emotion he was going through: confusion, surprise, realization, and then fondness. “Of course I want to meet them,” he said softly, taking Jungkook’s hand in his. “Thank you for letting me in, Jungkook; I know… I know it’s hard.”

“I’m freaking out right now,” Jungkook admitted. “But, I know you’ll love them. And they’ll love you too.” He squeezed Taehyung’s hand and flicked open the locks. “C’mon, let’s go; we don’t have that much time before your fitting.” He grinned. “Mr. Big Shot, darling of Gucci.” He winked and got out of the car before Taehyung could swat at him, and after locking up the car once Taehyung was out of it, led his soulmate to _God’s Menu_ , where he knocked soundly on the door.

“Ah! I’ve been here before,” Taehyung said suddenly, his face lighting up in realization. “It used to be called _Chan’s Room_ , though…”

Jungkook blinked. “Really? What were you doing at a Host Bar?” He smirked a little bit. “Did you have a crush that worked here?”

Taehyung smacked his shoulder. “No! I… it was called _Chan’s Room_ before and it was just this guy, Bang Chan… he knew Jin-hyung, and hyung said that he was a really good listener. Honestly, it was after talking with him that I realized I had to break up with Jaehwa.”

The Black Cat’s eyes widened and he was about to reply when the doors opened, revealing Minho, who was dressed in jeans, a t-shirt and a comfortable flannel shirt overtop. His steely blue eyes brightened when he saw Jungkook and a smile came to his lips and he nodded in greeting. “Bun-hyung, good morning. – Please, come in.” Minho bowed again before stepping back and allowing Jungkook and Taehyung to enter and get out of the cold. “Are you two hungry? We’re just finishing up breakfast… provided Jeongin didn’t eat it all, there should be some left.”

A loud groan came from the table. “I didn’t eat it all!”

Jungkook laughed and nodded. “I won’t say no to more breakfast. What about you, Tae?”

“I’ll have some, sure. Thank you,” Taehyung confirmed, nodding. It was easy to see that he was practically vibrating with excitement at getting to meet Jungkook’s friends, but was keeping himself well composed… for the most part. Jungkook squeezed his hand and brought him over to the table where six other people were sitting: Chan, Felix, Changbin, Minho, Jeongin and Hyunjin. From what he’d gathered at the meeting, Chan, Hyunjin and Jeongin lived here permanently, while the others mainly lived off-site but stayed at _God’s Menu_ occasionally.

Clearing his throat and willing himself to gather that courage he’d worked so hard to acquire over the last year and a half, Jungkook raised his head and smiled. “Tae, this is Bang Chan, Lee Minho and Seo Changbin. They’re the friends I mentioned in the car… and um, sorry, I’m still learning names, but that’s Hyunjin, Jeongin, and Felix… right?”

“Right!” Felix confirmed, smiling brightly.

Jungkook smiled back, unable to help it in the face of Felix’s infectious personality. “Everyone, this is… this is Kim Taehyung, my boyfriend and … well, my soulmate.” He blushed a bit at that last part, absently touching his soulmate earring on his right ear.

“It’s nice to meet all of you,” Taehyung said with a smile, bowing respectfully. “How do you all know Jungkookie?”

Hyunjin smiled a bit. “We just met Jungkook-ssi ourselves, but I assume that question was more directed to those three.” He jerked a ring-adorned thumb towards Changbin, Chan and Minho.

Chan chuckled and looked over at Jungkook. “Is it okay if I say?” he asked gently.

“Yeah, it’s okay. I don’t think _I_ can, otherwise I’m going to hurl from nerves,” Jungkook admitted, running a hand through his hair.

Jeongin quickly got to his feet. “I’ll get the bucket.”

Sympathetically, Chan placed a hand over Jungkook’s, and Taehyung was surprised to see the Black Cat relax and let out a deep exhale. Turning to Taehyung, Chan gave him a small smile. “It’s good to see you again, Taehyung-ssi. To answer your question, Jungkook, Minho, Changbin and I were… well, I don’t know how else to say this, but we were a part of a street gang. We worked for someone called Old Man Crow, he used to be a gangster but retired when he got too old and started sticking it to ‘The Man’ by offering all sorts of under the table protections to people in the city.”

“It’d be things like running errands from one person to another, escorting people who were afraid to leave their house, all sorts of things,” Minho added, adjusting the sleeves of his shirt.

Changbin nodded. “Not gonna mince words, sometimes we did some… less than legal things, but… we had to. None of us had anywhere to go, and the Old Man paid pretty well if you could do the job.”

Taehyung was silent as he listened and looked over as Jungkook’s hand was trembling in his own. Gently but firmly, Taehyung squeezed his soulmate’s hand. “It’s okay,” he said finally, tugging on Jungkook’s hand so the younger were-cat would look at him. “You did what you had to in order to survive. I’m glad you had people you could count on, though.”

“You’re… not mad?” Jungkook asked quietly.

The model blinked. “Why would I be mad?”

Jungkook rubbed his arm. “I mean, I just admitted I was in a street gang, working for an old gangster. That’s not exactly… great for the partner of someone as famous as you are.”

Taehyung tilted his head slightly before straightening up and lightly flicking Jungkook square in the forehead. “Like you’re not getting famous yourself,” he said, shaking his head. “More importantly, you’re _you_ , Jungkookie. Your past is a part of you and no matter what happens, I’m going to be there with you. If people have a problem with it, they can get fucked.” He shook his head and smiled warmly. “If there’s one thing that I learned from Jin-hyung is to not give a fuck what other people think about where I, or anybody I care about, came from. You met these really good people, and they really admire you. Even if you weren’t doing the greatest things, it got you to this point where you _are_ doing good. That’s something, isn’t it?”

The Black Cat’s yellowish-green eyes widened and a small, shy smile creased his lips. “Jin-hyung would be proud,” he said teasingly, but there was no questioning the fondness in Jungkook’s voice.

The Tiger were-cat gave Jungkook a little nudge. “I heard Minho-ssi call you ‘Bun’?”

Embarrassed, Jungkook nodded as he swallowed and cleared his throat. “We, um, we had codenames when we worked for Old Man Crow. It kind of, replaced our names… Honestly, I didn’t know that Chan was Chan until yesterday. He was Roo, Minho was Lee Know, Changbin was Spear… that’s what I knew them as. And they only knew me as ‘Bun’; the Old Man usually named us so the names were pretty simple.”

“Was he called Bun because of his smile?” Taehyung asked with a smile, squeezing his hand.

Chan laughed a little. “He had a high vertical leap and could outrun anybody.” He paused. “And the smile.”

Changbin clapped his hands together. “Yah, Bun, do you remember when you cleared that fence in one step and dodged like six pairs of cops that were coming at you from all directions?” He turned to Minho and grinned. “Nearly took your head off when he threw that backpack at you.”

“He nearly took _your_ head off because _you_ weren’t paying attention,” Minho snorted. “Don’t try and rewrite history.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “I took both of you out because you were bickering like you are now!” He put a hand over his face and groaned. “How the hell we didn’t get caught is a mystery _to this day_.”

Taehyung laughed, pressing his fist to his mouth to stop himself from laughing _too_ hard, his eyes crinkling shut. “Can I ask you guys one thing?”

“Yeah, of course,” Chan confirmed, dimples dotting his cheeks.

“What’s Jungkookie’s surprise for Valentine’s Day?” Taehyung asked seriously, leaning forward.

Jungkook rolled his eyes and jabbed Taehyung in the side. “They’re not going to tell you!”

Chan laughed, holding up his tattooed hands. “Sorry, Bun asked us to keep our mouths shut.”

“Bros before… soulmates,” Changbin had started off strong, but finished lamely and laughed sheepishly when everyone stared at him like he had six heads. “I couldn’t say what I was originally going to out of respect for the soulmate.”

Taehyung bit his lip, trying to stifle a laugh. “Appreciated, I guess.” He paused and looked over at Chan, as if realizing something. The Black Cat looked back at him, head tilted curiously. “Where’s _your_ soulmate, Channie?”

Chan blinked, and looked embarrassed. “Mine? Ah, he’s right over here - Felix.” He smiled shyly when Felix winked at him, much to the amusement of the _God’s Menu_ hosts.

“Aw, you two look great together,” Taehyung enthused. He beamed and looked over at Felix. “Will _you_ tell me what the surprise is?”

Felix nodded and leaned in, much to Jungkook’s rising horror. But then, he giggled and shook his head. “Nope, sorry! A surprise is a surprise and I can’t ruin it!”

“Ugh!” Taehyung pouted as he sat back, folding his arms. “I take back what I said, I am strongly reconsidering being fond of you.”

Jungkook laughed, hunching over as his laughter took on a higher pitch, very close to the Elmo laugh that Taehyung loved so much, that only made an appearance when Jungkook was extremely comfortable. “It’s only a little while longer, you can wait, Tae.”

“The suspense is _literally_ going to kill me, JK.”

“It won’t, but go off.”

~ * ~

“I haven’t been potion component shopping with someone in a while,” Jungkook admitted, hands shoved into his pockets as he followed BamBam around Seoul. “Chan was saying you make all their specialty drinks?”

BamBam nodded as he stuck his tongue out to catch a falling snowflake. “Chan made the initial set that’s still there today but I’m in charge of all the rotational drinks and the special ones. People love exclusive shit, so some of them I only make during an hour long block and then never again.”

Jungkook blinked and laughed. “That’s really smart. — You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many Black Cats in one place before. I always thought we were loners.”

“I think we prefer our alone time more than most,” BamBam agreed, “but Miss. Raven likes to foster a sense of community amongst those that she knows, and that she teaches. There’s no reason for us to leave each other out in the cold if we can help it, you know? Society might hate us, but we’ve got each other. And our soulmates. I guess.”

“You guess? You haven’t found yours?”

BamBam shrugged. “No, I have, but… I don’t know. He’s one of my best friends and I don’t want to make things weird. I wouldn’t know what to say, either. ‘Hey, Yugyeom, I’ve got something to tell you. It’s super weird though, bro.’ What would he even say?”

“I’d say just say it,” came a voice from behind them. The colour drained from BamBam’s face and Jungkook turned slowly to see a young man about their age with short, stylishly cut blue hair and an earring that identically matched BamBam’s.

“Uh, I … I guess I could,” BamBam stammered, still white as a sheet.

Yugyeom raised an eyebrow and looked between BamBam and Jungkook. “…new _friend?_ ”

Jungkook looked between them and smiled, bowing slightly. “—Hey, I’m Jungkook; I’m working with BamBam at _God’s Menu_. Well, I’m taking pictures for the hosts at the Bar, but close enough.”

“Oh, coworker,” Yugyeom said with recognition dawning, and he bowed. “What are you two doing out here? Doing… Black Cat things?” He made quotation marks with his gloved fingers.

Jungkook nodded. “We’re looking for potion components. — Wanna come?” He ignored BamBam’s sharp elbow to his side. “The more the merrier, you know?”

Yugyeom looked between Jungkook and BamBam and to the older Black Cat’s surprise, nodded. “Sure, sounds like fun. I don’t know a lot about Black Cat stuff, save for what BamBam’s told me. Kind of goes over my head, though. — you make Potions too?”

“I’m better at casting Hexes, but they’re kind of close together,” Jungkook explained, scratching the side of his nose gently. “Because you mix stuff together… only with Potions you make people ingest it.” He paused. “Not _make_ them… I mean … sometimes. — not us.” Huffing as he was annoyed at his own botched sentence, Jungkook looked over at Yugyeom as they continued on their way to the component shop. “How long have you known BamBam?”

“God, years?” Yugyeom replied, laughing. “We were strays together and stuck together like glue. Even when he went to Miss. Raven’s estate, she let me come and visit him all the time. I’m just a regular were-cat, but she was really nice about it.”

Jungkook smiled. “That’s really cool. Mind if I ask what kind of were-cat you are? If it’s a touchy subject, I’m sorry.”

Yugyeom shook his head. “Nah, it’s cool; I’m a Norwegian Forest, black and white coat.” He tugged at his hair. “My hair gets out of control so I’m like at the barber every other week it feels like.”

“Ugh, my sympathies,” Jungkook groaned, shaking his own long mane. “Mine grows like a weed too. — what about you, BamBam?”

Quickly snapping out of his spiralling thoughts, BamBam shook his head. “Nah, mine’s pretty normal,” he mumbled. “Why are _you_ so chatty all of a sudden, JK? Did someone switch the painful introvert with somebody else when I wasn’t looking?”

Jungkook grinned. “You’re a really good influence, hyung,” he said with a bit of a sing-song as he nudged BamBam. There was something _fun_ about being with the two of them that was lowering his usual high gates of comfort; it reminded him of when he used to run with Chan, Changbin and Minho when they were younger.

BamBam eyed him. “I’ll call your soulmate on you.”

“Do it,” Jungkook challenged. “I’m sure he’d love to hear from you.”

Yugyeom raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know you guys joked about the soulmate thing like that so easily.”

“The whole thing’s kind of strange, you know?” Jungkook asked, shaking his head to shake off the snow. “Fate’s so pissed off at us that they give us a soulmate, but don’t tell us, don’t tell them, and we’re just supposed to… make it work. Like it’s not awkward as hell.”

“Was it for you and your soulmate?” Yugyeom asked curiously, following the pair into the component shop, where BamBam was seemingly intent on being literally anywhere else than in the current conversation.

Jungkook sucked on his teeth. “I was a mess when I met them the first time and… well, no, still a mess. But, like, as much as it’s embarrassing, we talked about it? It’s not like… a guarantee. I mean, it’s guaranteed you’ll meet but not that you’re going to be stuck together. That’s not what it is.”

The were-cat nodded slowly. “So it’s like a fateful meeting not like… this is your prison, you’re stuck with this Black Cat. That’s a relief; it must be stressful as hell for the Black Cat.”

“You have no idea,” BamBam muttered as he shuffled over to the shopkeep, producing a list from his coat. “Hi, Auntie.”

The older woman who ran the component shop smiled and took the list from him. “Shopping for Channie again, are you?” she asked, chuckling. “Oh, and you brought a cute friend! Ah, and the boyfriend.”

“Wh - Auntie!?” BamBam exclaimed, face scarlet red.

Yugyeom smirked. “He still hasn’t taken me out on a date yet.”

The woman’s eyes widened and she smacked BamBam in the arm with her hand. “What are you waiting for? You’re young and hot _now_ , stop wasting time!”

Jungkook blinked and tried his damnedest to keep his laughter from spilling past his hands, but he was wildly unsuccessful. He’d only known BamBam for a short amount of time, but he already felt like BamBam was too cool and too charismatic for his own good; seeing him out of sorts and a mess like the rest of them was comforting in its own way. “Valentine’s Day _is_ coming up,” he said as he peered at the list that the Auntie was showing him.

“Shut up, JK!” BamBam hissed.

The younger Black Cat pouted and leaned into the older woman’s gentle pets. “You’re being so _mean_ , hyung,” he said, sticking out his tongue. “I came out here to learn and spend time with you and your boyfriend and you’re being _rude_.”

“Really now, BamBam, be nice,” the Auntie warned. “Where did you pick up this cutie?”

“I don’t know, but he’s going back where I found him after this,” BamBam muttered.

Yugyeom laughed. “I think me and Jungkook need to hang out more,” he said. “Seems like there’s quite a lot we could talk about.”

Turning to the Auntie, Jungkook grinned. “So these two have been dancing around each other for years, Auntie?”

“No!”

“Sure as hell feels like it.”

“Oh, yes,” the Auntie replied, dutifully pulling the different containers that held various components for the potions/drinks that they’d be making at _God’s Menu_. “They’ve both been coming here ever since they were kittens and they were always attached to the hip. One of you has go to make a move before I die, honestly. I’ve been waiting too long and you’ve outlasted all my favourite dramas.”

Jungkook laughed louder than he intended, high-pitched and genuine, hugging BamBam from behind as the older man ducked into his scarf in an attempt to die. “I’m so sorry,” he apologized, burying his face against BamBam’s wide back. The younger Black Cat grinned and turned BamBam around to face Yugyeom, who was watching all of this with an amused look on his face.

“If… if you’re not busy on Valentine’s Day and you want a … you want to pick up a shift at the restaurant, Chan’s looking for some temp waiters,” BamBam mumbled. “We can… get something to eat, after. Or something.”

“Or something,” Yugyeom echoed.

“Just — you want in, or not?” BamBam asked, shoulders hunching up. Jungkook giggled behind him and he struggled to shake the younger Black Cat off.

Yugyeom smiled and nodded, the faintest of blushes colouring his cheeks. “Yeah… that sounds good, Bam.”

The Auntie gasped and clapped her hands together. “Little one, you’re a good luck charm!” she exclaimed, reaching out to pinch Jungkook’s cheek.

“Just a little Black Cat Magic, Auntie,” Jungkook replied, laughing as he finally released BamBam.

~ * ~

Taehyung pulled his scarf up and burrowed further inside of it as he made his way to _God’s Menu_ , the snow crunching underneath his sleek Gucci dress shoes. He was dressed head to toe in his favourite brand, wearing a suit that was a part of their pre-fall collection - an emerald green three piece suit, tailored to fit him like a glove. Paired with a crisp white button-down and a burgundy, emerald green and caramel striped tie, his slicked back blond hair made him look like a million bucks. On his right ear, he had on one half of a Gucci earring, with a lion’s head holding a sparkling emerald in is mouth, resting above a diamond laurel and finished with a teardrop emerald cut exquisitely.

He had been wracking his brain for the last while trying to figure out what kind of surprise Jungkook would have for him for Valentine’s Day, and while he appreciated the lengths the Black Cat had gone to in order to keep the surprise a surprise… Taehyung’s imagination was getting the best of him. What could he possibly have in store at _God’s Menu?_ Maybe it was a lovely dinner date! He’d heard a lot of good things about the restaurant portion of the Host Bar; Seokjin was alway singing its praises while in the same breath cursing that he was never going to get Chan back at _Moon_.

Carefully, Taehyung opened the doors leading into _God’s Menu_ , and was taken aback by the utterly _gorgeous_ décor; the Bar had been transformed into a Gothic wonderland. “Ah, they really transformed this place!” he gushed, smiling widely.

“Taehyung-ssi, it’s good to see you,” Chan greeted, pulling Taehyung out of his excited exploration of the main foyer. “Happy Valentine’s Day and welcome to _God’s Menu_. Are you ready for your surprise?”

Blinking owlishly at the younger were-cat, Taehyung’s brows furrowed. “My surprise is _here?_ ” he asked in surprise.

The Black Cat smiled at him and nodded. “It is. Please, this way.” With a slight inclination of his head, Chan led Taehyung through the beautifully decorated Host Bar and over to a small booth meant for a couple, curled around a beautifully furnished table. The table was draped in rich, red silk, staged with a gorgeous flower arrangement, two wine glasses and a box of chocolates. Taehyung’s eyes raked over the details, reaching down to touch the tablecloth.

“Your host will be with you in a moment,” Chan was saying, bringing Taehyung out of his thoughts once again. “Please, have a seat and enjoy your night here at _God’s Menu_.” The Black Cat bowed and turned to attend to other matters, leaving the model to his own devices.

Curiously, Taehyung peeled off his coat and scarf, hanging them up on the nearby coat stand, making sure he was nice and put together before sliding into the booth. He picked up the box of chocolates, smiling to himself as it was imprinted with the logo of the Host Bar, but specifically with his name on it; a wonderful touch. He could hear the sound of a pair of heeled dress shoes walking towards him and as his gaze shifted from the box to the floor, he blinked. Taehyung recognized the brand; it was _Hyperion_ , a gothic fashion house that was beginning to make waves in the industry.

“…Welcome to _God’s Menu_ ; anything on our menu will satisfy all of your five senses. My name is Jungkook and I’ll be your host tonight.”

Taehyung’s head snapped up and his hazel eyes widened almost comically. There, standing before him and dressed like a gothic prince was Jungkook, his long hair expertly styled and his makeup applied with the highest level of skill. The model felt as if he was having an out of body experience once he realized that Jungkook had an undercut, and a sharply done one at that. Studs lined his ears, with the other half of his Gucci Lion earring on Jungkook’s left ear. The royal purple shirt dipped underneath his black, skillfully tailored suit was opened at the top two buttons, revealing a chain and lace choker that had several teardrop black diamonds hanging from it, the jewels resting comfortably against the Black Cat’s gorgeous collarbone.

Jungkook looked _immaculate_.

Smiling as his soulmate was suitably surprised, Jungkook bowed slightly and slid into the booth beside Taehyung, setting down the twin glasses he had in his hands that were filled with a beautifully coloured cocktail. “How do you like your surprise?” he asked, his voice hopeful.

“I love it,” Taehyung breathed, watching with wide eyes as Jungkook’s jewellery jingled softly with each movement, his eyes particularly drawn to the choker around his soulmate’s neck. “I thought you hated chokers?”

“I don’t like leather ones,” Jungkook admitted. “But Miss. Raven showed me this one, and I really liked it. It’s pretty comfortable. — it’s not too much, is it?”

(Not if you count me wanting to fuck you in that choker and nothing else,) Taehyung thought, loosening his grip on the box of chocolates. “No, it’s beautiful. _You’re_ beautiful. — is this where you’ve been going the last two weeks?”

Jungkook nodded. “When San brought me here and I met Roo, Spear and Lee Know again, they mentioned that they were doing a Valentine’s Day event and they were gonna make it Black Cat/Gothic themed and asked if I wanted to help out. I don’t know why I said yes, but… I’m glad I did. Chan said I could bring you here as a date for my last appointment… and I was at a loss as to what to do since you went all out last year…” He rubbed his neck. “It all worked out. I even bribed Jiminie to keep you busy while San and I practiced.”

Taehyung stared at his soulmate, his brain struggling to keep up with the deluge of new information. He grinned and pressed a kiss to Jungkook’s cheek. “Sneaky,” he said fondly. “I wish I could have seen you Host.”

“Ugh, no you don’t,” Jungkook groaned softly. “Sannie did all the heavy lifting. All I did was sit there and be pretty.” He looked over to where San was sitting with Wooyoung, and he smiled warmly. “I’m really happy for them; he and Wooyoung seem to really be getting on track.”

Sparing a glance over at the two younger were-cats, Taehyung found himself nodding too. “I was a bit concerned, given how they started out, but they’re smart kids. They’re actually talking to each other. Better than the two of us at the start, anyway.”

Jungkook smiled and slid one of the cocktails over to him. “Here, this is… um, this is one of the drinks I made with BamBam for tonight,” he started, swallowing nervously. “It’s called _Home_.”

The Tiger’s eyes lit up as he gently took the glass, giving it a cursory sniff before sipping it curiously. “Ah! Jungkookie! This is delicious… the flavours are… oh, it feels so warm.” He smiled and put a hand to his chest, surprised by the reaction. “I didn’t know you could use potions this way.”

“Me neither,” Jungkook admitted. “But Chan and BamBam have been using their potion making skills to make cocktails and other kinds of drinks that illicit a … more positive response.” He paused and put a hand to his head. “Hey! I’m supposed to be hosting _you_.”

Taehyung laughed and took another sip of the drink, sitting back and elegantly crossing his legs. “Okay, okay. Host me, Jeon Jungkook.”

The Black Cat eyed him but cleared his throat and straightened up, sinking into a role that he had been playing all night. Taehyung tried his best not to coo at how hard Jungkook was trying, but luckily (or unluckily), the second Jungkook opened his yellowish-green eyes, all of his vocal cords stopped working when he was affixed with a seductive stare. Gently, he took Taehyung’s hand in his, helping him take another long sip of the cocktail, his ring adorned fingers sliding up the model’s hand and to his chin. Jungkook rubbed his thumb along Taehyung’s tinted lip, stained with the colouring of the drink, his own glossy lips parting slightly.

“I’ve been waiting to see you again,” Jungkook said softly, leaving his hand where it was, cupping Taehyung’s chin. “I wanted to be… good enough to see you like this, where I didn’t feel scared to be out in the open.” He smiled. “Thank you for being so patient with me.”

Taehyung swallowed, reaching up with a free hand to place his much larger hand over Jungkook’s. Somehow, the Black Cat was continuing to straddle the line between innocence, shyness and outright seduction; a dangerous combination. “It’s not about patience,” he found himself saying, “we’re in this together.”

“I don’t really care about Valentine’s Day as a construct, but I wanted to show my appreciation,” Jungkook admitted, carefully opening the box of chocolates that Taehyung had been fiddling with. “I wanted to spend the night spoiling you rotten, like you’ve been doing.” He looked up and smiled. “Will you let me?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung breathed, surprised and dumbfounded. Never in his wildest dreams did he think that the night would go this way, that his life and his fate would involve being wrapped up in the sweetest, loveliest, most sincere man he’d never known.

Jungkook smiled at that, and shyly turned the lid of the box of chocolates over, turning it over to show Taehyung the inside. There, taped to the inside of the lid, was a little black envelope with Taehyung’s name on it. “I had thought about doing this a thousand different ways and it’s probably really lame to do it today, but I think… I think it’s the right time.” Carefully, Jungkook peeled the black envelope off the lid of the box of chocolates, opening it and sliding a delicate silver ring, lined with cognac and black-hued diamond.

Taehyung’s eyes widened and he felt faint. “Jungkook, is that—”

Gently, the Black Cat took his soulmate’s hand in his, the other hand holding the ring. “Chan said something to me that really made sense… Black Cats don’t wander because society hates us, we wander because we’re trying to find our home. We’re trying to find our Soulmate, a place where we belong, where we… can safely put our heart. And for me, that’s with you.” He swallowed, and looked up with cautious yellowish-green eyes. “Taehyung, will you marry me?”

The silence stretched almost impossibly long, and the longer it went on, the longer Jungkook looked like he was losing the will to live. His hand began to lower, concern and then rising horror starting to creep into his handsome features, only to have his hand be caught by the Tiger were-cat. Startled, Jungkook looked up at Taehyung, eyes wide and absently chewing at his bottom lip.

“Tae?”

“Sorry, I was… I was caught off guard,” Taehyung apologized, letting out a breathless laugh. “I didn’t think that you’d be the one to ask first.” He lips curled into his signature boxy smile, unable to contain his happiness as he leaned forward to capture Jungkook’s lips in a soft kiss. “I was planning on it a while from now, I didn’t think it was right to just dump something like that on you, you’ve been working on being more open lately and —”

“—Tae, yes or no? I’m dying here,” Jungkook croaked.

Startled, Taehyung snapped out of his rambling and laughed breathlessly, kissing the Black Cat again. “Silly! It’s a yes, of course!” He was over the moon; never expecting in a million years that Jungkook would be as deep into this as he was. Maybe there was still some residual guilt from how deeply Taehyung loved with his whole self, but Jungkook never made him feel that way. His love was skittish, his love was shy, but Jungkook was never one to make him feel silly for loving how he did.

Relieved and letting out a breathless exhale that morphed into a disbelieving laugh, Jungkook slid the ring onto Taehyung’s left ring finger. “Oh thank God,” Jungkook whispered, resting his forehead against Taehyung’s. “I was going to die if you didn’t say something.”

He was trembling, Taehyung noticed, and a warm, fond smile creased his lips and he pressed a soft kiss to Jungkook’s. “You were so brave,” Taehyung whispered, thumb stroking Jungkook’s cheek, right at the little scar that was barely noticeable. “Deep breaths, JK… I’ve got you. You did so good, I’m so happy.”

That seemed to do the trick, and he could see Jungkook’s panic slowly begin to ease up until it faded away, and the Black Cat smiled back at him. His nose scrunched up and his smiled widened until Taehyung was sure his heart was about to burst. “Thank you for taking a chance on me,” he whispered.

“I’ll do it again and again,” Taehyung promised. “Now… what do you say we get some dinner and head home?”

Jungkook smiled widely. “Yeah.” He might not have been able to give Taehyung a proper hosting appointment, but he didn’t care; as he looked down at the sparkling engagement ring that was now prominently displayed on the Tiger’s ring finger, a swell of pride enveloped him.

He’d found his home.

~ * ~

“Tell me what you want,” Jungkook breathed as he pressed Taehyung up against the wall in the master bedroom of their Gangnam apartment, nuzzling his neck. “I’ll give you anything you want, Tae.”

A soft, deep groan rumbled out of the model’s throat, imprinting itself in Jungkook’s ear canal. “I want you to mate me,” he whispered, anchoring his ring-adorned hands into the wild black hair of his soulmate. A flash of mischievousness coloured his handsome features as he nipped at Jungkook’s ear, lavishing his tongue over the piercings as he heard the shuddering gasp that came from the Black Cat. “Mm… think you’re strong enough to fuck me against the wall, Kook?”

His answer came in the form of Jungkook giving a sharp nip to Taehyung’s jugular, yellowish-green eyes bright in the dark of the apartment. “Is Jimin going to kill me if I mark you up?” Jungkook rasped, his voice thick with desire. “A mating mark’s not gonna go away, you know… you’ll have to cover it up all the time…”

“Don’t care,” Taehyung groaned, tilting his neck. “Want it.”

“Tae, come on,” Jungkook whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth. “Really think about it… we don’t have to do that now…”

“Everybody already knows I’m yours, now I wanna show it off,” Taehyung protested, pulling the Black Cat in for another kiss. “I want you to mark me, Kook … I want to mark _you_ up, want… I want everybody to see… if I gotta cover it with makeup, that’s fine, I don’t care.”

Jungkook groaned again, stealing a deeper kiss as he pressed their hips together, the movement harried, sloppy, and _deliciously_ raw with emotion. “You know when I want to do it? When I’ve got you just about to come, when you’re just on the edge… I wanna push you over with it… and I want you to do the same thing. Same … Same time. Think you can hold on long enough?”

Taehyung really shouldn’t have been surprised that Jungkook could be so deliciously sinful while maintaining the innocence of a stargazing lover. “Fuck,” he hissed, head lolling back against the wall as Jungkook bit and licked at his collarbone. “Yeah, I want that. I really want that, Kook. — bed first.”

“Un,” Jungkook agreed, easily picking up his soulmate and moving them over to the bed. This was far from the first time they’d done this together, but everything felt scarily new, like it was uncharted territory. And perhaps it was, with the new layer to the relationship that had been added. The Black Cat smiled, pressing a kiss to the sparkling ring that adorned Taehyung’s left ring finger, beaming when Taehyung smiled back at him with his reddening, parted lips, his cheeks flushed. “Let’s get you out of this suit, Tae. I don’t want Gucci to put my head on a pike.”

“I know good dry cleaners,” Taehyung groaned, but was pliant in Jungkook’s hands as his soulmate carefully stripped him out of the expensive suit. As Jungkook went to get rid of his own suit, Taehyung’s hand shot out to grab his wrist. “Leave the choker on?”

Jungkook stopped, his eyes widening. A mischievous grin creased his tinted lips and he nodded, stripping out of the borrowed suit and putting it side carefully - as much as Taehyung didn’t care about his personal suit, this one wasn’t Jungkook’s and he wasn’t about to risk Raven’s wrath. He watched with a quickening pulse as Taehyung’s hazel eyes began to rake over his tattooed frame. “See something you like?”

“You,” Taehyung replied simply, reaching out with a hand to tug the Black Cat down on top of him.

His boyfriend - no, he could call him his fiancé now - smiled warmly at that, capturing his lips in a loving kiss that quickly got more heated the longer it went on, accented by roaming hands, captivated by the power they had to touch this tanned skin that was beautifully inked. Taehyung loved Jungkook’s tattoos, loved that Jungkook loved them, and carefully kissed the tiger-print rose that hung right above his lover’s heart.

The times that Jungkook topped, Taehyung learned that he loved to take his time, loved to watch each and every reaction, hear every hitched breath and whispered curse and adjust course accordingly. He’d say that Taehyung deserved to be treasured, that he deserved to be spoiled and taken care of for trusting Jungkook like this, giving himself over like this. None of Taehyung’s other lovers ever treated him like this, and he was continually surprised by how thoughtful his fiancé could be.

“I love you, Tae,” Jungkook whispered as he worked the model open, watching with bright, curious eyes as Taehyung writhed on the bed, easily ready but lost to pleasure. “Are you ready?”

“Love you, Kook,” Taehyung whispered back, nodding his head. “C’mon, sit up on the edge of the bed… I want you to _ruin_ me tonight.”

Jungkook looked as if his soul left his body but nodded and got into position, smirking slightly as Taehyung’s own breath hitched in anticipation. “You got it.” They moved with practiced ease - everything seemed easy with Jungkook the longer they were together - and soon Taehyung found himself chest to chest and seated hotly on the Black Cat’s lap. “Talk to me, Tae… you okay?”

“So good,” Taehyung whispered, nuzzling Jungkook’s tattooed neck. Bottoming was always a heightened experience for the model, and he didn’t do it often. But he found that with Jungkook, he didn’t have to be afraid, he could let himself go and he could let himself free-fall into pleasure and he would be safely caught by the Black Cat. “Up?”

“Already?”

“ _Please_.”

“Okay,” Jungkook whispered, placing a kiss to Taehyung’s sweat-slicked neck. “Hang on tight, Tae.”

Taehyung wasn’t sure why the warning was given, until Jungkook firmly gripped his thighs and hoisted him up with a surprising amount of strength. The air rushed out of Taehyung’s lungs and punched out a low groan of pleasure. “G-Gods,” he moaned, pressing his forehead against Jungkook’s shoulder. “I can f-feel it… I can _really_ feel you…”

Jungkook huffed out a small laugh as he moved to the nearest wall, as if he didn’t trust himself to move any further. As soon as the model’s back touched the cool surface, he let out a whine of impatience. “Wrap your legs tighter, Tae,” he breathed, voice choked with the strain of holding back from pounding his fiancé into the wall. There was something so filthy about this, something so _primal_ that Jungkook’s instincts were going into overdrive. “R-Ready?”

“Y-Yeah.”

He was under no delusion that either one of them were going to last too long; they were both too wound up, too excited about what would happen at the end of the night. Each loud slap of skin against skin, the jingle of their jewellery, words that dissolved into a frenzied mantra of _ah - ah - ah_ , it was too much for them both. Jungkook’s blunted, painted nails dug into Taehyung’s thighs, his breath hot against his neck.

“D-Do it now,” Taehyung breathlessly ordered, gripping Jungkook’s tattooed shoulders. “I’m not gonna … I’m close…”

“S-Same,” Jungkook agreed, mouth gaping and pressing tight against the Tiger’s jugular. “Now?”

“Y-Yeah, now!”

It was an utter blur. Taehyung, blissed out of his mind and carried away on the tide of his climax and the rush of endorphins from his lover finally placing the mating mark he’d wanted for so long at his neck. He expected fireworks, but instead got a rush of warmth and security that he wanted tattooed on his body forever. In his euphoria, he nearly forgot to do the same to Jungkook, quickly moving to give his soulmate a matching mark. For all the times Taehyung dreamed about placing a mating mark, knowing exactly how he’d do it, it looked nothing like he imagined - it looked _better_ , standing out starkly against Jungkook’s black-inked tattoos.

Somehow, they’d ended up on the floor, a gasping, overwhelmed and sweaty mess. Jungkook carefully released his death grip on Taehyung’s thighs, lovingly cupping the model’s face in his hands. “You … you okay?”

“More than okay,” Taehyung confirmed, looking up at his fiancé - his _mate_ \- with lovestruck eyes. “…’cause I’m with you; you’re my home.”

Jungkook’s eyes brightened and he pressed a soft kiss to the mating mark on Taehyung’s neck, staring at it like he’d finally seen the Mona Lisa. “You became my home because you were there,” he whispered back, smiling stupidly.

He could barely remember how they got off the floor, or when exactly it was they got cleaned off and changed into fluffy, patterned pajamas, but what Taehyung did know was that there was no one he would rather have with him in the harsh sunlight of the world than Jungkook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO DIDN'T LEARN HER OWN GODDAMN LESSON AND IS STILL EXPANDING THIS AU
> 
> THAT'S RIGHT THIS LADY 
> 
> WOOO


	3. Sope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hoseok started the day feeling pretty good about himself and teasing his dongsaengs. When he arrives home after the meeting at God's Menu about Valentine's Day, he finds Yoongi injured after a target of a Hex wanted revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoseok is in like every part of this series lol. He’s a pretty big part of Parts 1 and 2, a side part in Part 3, a cameo in Part 4, and a major part of Part 5. Yoongi is referenced in Part 1, makes an appearance in Part 2 and has a larger part in Part 4 and 5. 
> 
> T/W: We're getting a little bit into the darker part of black magic in this chapter. There's descriptions of blood and a gun injury, but nothing graphic. Just be careful though, the implications of a particular type of black magic are a bit icky.

Hoseok lightly bounced on his feet as he made his way to _God’s Menu_ , one of Yoongi and Namjoon’s songs stuck in his head. He’d spent the better part of the previous evening listening to them workshop a song and the bridge had been stuck in his head for the better part of the day at this point. It wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem but they’d only gotten so far as the bridge and a half completed melody playing on repeat in his head was beginning to drive Hoseok batty.

Luckily, the door to the Host Bar opened and he saw Felix, one of the co-owners. “Lynxie!” Hoseok exclaimed, pulling the younger were-cat into a tight hug. “Good morning!”

With a piercing laugh, Felix beamed and hugged the Black Cat back. “Hoseok-hyung! Morning!” he greeted, laughing as Hoseok easily picked him up and swung him around. “You’re the first one here!”

“Wow, I even beat Miss. Raven?” Hoseok was surprised; his mentor was usually very early. Then again, she was kind of like Gandalf; she’d show up precisely when she meant to. Carefully, Hoseok followed the Lynx into the Bar, stomping the snow off his boots and ruffling his hair to get rid of any excess snowflakes.

Chan laughed from further inside the Bar. “She said she might be a little late; she’s recently taken in five young Black Cats and they’re proving to be a handful.”

Hoseok blinked. “Five, really?”

“Mm, they seem to be each other’s soulmates,” Chan explained, pressing a cup of hot cocoa into Hoseok’s hands. “I told her I would have a strong drink ready when she came.” He laughed, shaking his head.

“Jeez, that’s really crazy! I didn’t know you could have multiple soulmates,” Hoseok said in wonder, sliding down into a seat.

Jeongin snorted. “It sounds like a headache to me.”

Hoseok tilted his head. “Ne, Jeonginie. Do you have a soulmate?”

The youngest of the Hosts at _God’s Menu_ blinked back at him and tilted his head in the other direction as he thought about it. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’m half Black Cat. Maybe I have half a soulmate?”

“How would you have _half_ a soulmate?” Jisung asked incredulously.

“I don’t know! How could you have _five?_ ” Jeongin retorted, folding his arms. “There’s no exact science to this stuff.”

BamBam laughed as he entered the Bar, shaking off the snow. “What’s got Innie so riled up first thing in the morning? What did y’all do? Breathe?”

Minho snorted as he idly rubbed Jeongin’s shoulder. “Is it true your mentor’s adopted five more children?”

Confusion coloured BamBam’s handsome features before recognition dawned and he laughed. “Skrrt, skrrt! Those kids! Yeah, that’s true. They’re like attached at the hip and causing a big fuss at the estate; don’t think I’ve seen Miss. Raven be so close to losing her cool. She’s got the fear of god put ‘em now, though.”

Hoseok blinked and looked over curiously as he sipped his hot cocoa. “You’ve met them, BamBam?”

“Oh yeah, been helping keep them in line,” BamBam confirmed. “They’re good kids but they’re a handful. We got… shit, what were their names?” He checked his phone and pulled up a photo, sliding in to show Hoseok. “So going from left to right that’s Soobin, Yeonjun, Taehyun, Beomgyu and Kai. Miss. Raven came across them trying to sneak into the estate; they managed to circumvent the illusion spell by working together. Seems like their Black Magic is interconnected, if that makes sense?”

Chan blinked as he leaned over Hoseok’s shoulder to look at the photograph. “You mean like their magic builds on each other’s?”

BamBam nodded. “Yeah, that’s a better way to put it. Individually they seem to be relatively weak but if they work together then they can do some pretty crazy stuff. Miss. Raven’s still trying to figure out the extent of it so they’re staying at the estate right now and under some pretty tight supervision.”

“If they actually managed to get in through her powerful spell, they definitely need to have an eye kept on them,” Chan said, blinking slowly.

Jeongin blinked and looked over from where he was sitting. “I can’t believe they got past Miss. Raven’s spell… it’s always shifting and changing to look like something else. — I kind of want to meet them now.”

Changbin snorted. “So you can get more insane ideas? We have our hands full enough with you already!”

Hoseok grinned and pulled the phone towards him as he looked at the five young men, zooming in on the picture to see their soulmate earrings. “They do look really similar!” he commented. “That’d be wild… and exhausting. How is Miss. Raven handling it?”

“If you count starting to day drink, she’s doing great,” Jiyong said as he entered the Bar, followed closely by Taemin, who was leading in Raven in by linking their arms together. Each one of the trio was draped head to toe in black and silver, almost looking like they were in an idol group together; no doubt dressed in Raven’s fashion line _Hyperion_.

Taemin laughed and covered his mouth with a hand when Raven glowered at him over the tinted lenses of her sunglasses. “You’re the only one who can get away with talking to her like that, Jiyong-hyung,” he giggled softly, helping Raven over to the table.

Jiyong smirked and took his seat at the far end of the table, leaning back comfortably. “Perks of being old friends, I suppose,” he said. “Those kids are a trip, though.”

Carefully, Raven took off her sunglasses and gently folded them, setting them down in front of her before reaching up and rubbing her eyes, being mindful of her purple-hued nails. “Their energy builds off one another,” she said tiredly, nodding gratefully to Chan who brought over a spiked hot cocoa. “Thank you, Chan.”

“Their energy builds off one another?” Hoseok echoed. “What kind of specialization do they have, noona?”

Raven took a long sip from the mug, exhaling softly. “It’s difficult to say this early in my observation, so I’m hesitant to commit to anything, but the most I can figure is that their magic can be whatever they want, provided they’re all on the same page.”

Jiyong made a noise of agreement. “They bicker more than they’re in agreement though, so that’s been a bit of a godsend in terms of getting them to listen. Raven’s scared the shit out of them now, so they’re a bit more well-behaved.”

Remembering when Raven slightly lost her temper upon finding out what happened to Jeongin and how terrifying it felt, Chan shuddered slightly. “I can’t imagine what that was like,” he said, shaking his head.

Seonghwa turned to Raven and gave a small smile. “Is Yeo helping you with them?” he asked quietly.

“He’s watching them right now while I’m here,” Raven replied, running a hand through her dark hair. “Hopefully he hasn’t killed them by the time I get back.”

Hoseok tilted his head curiously, wanting so badly to hear what Seonghwa and Raven were talking about, but there was another knock at the door and BamBam let out a yell of greeting as he opened it. “Ah, Jungkookie! Sannie!”

“That’s everyone,” Chan said with a look of relief on his face. “Shall we get started?”

Hoseok listened intently as Chan explained the idea - Valentine’s Day but with a Black Cat twist. Each one of them would be paired with an experienced _God’s Menu_ host, and they would be offering a different style of appointment, with a Gothic flair - something that was definitely not offered by the other Host Bars. A wave of affection washed over the older Black Cat as he watched Chan explain and easily command the attention in the room; Chan had come a long way from the quiet, shy, introverted young man that he’d met at Raven’s estate. When they’d gone their separate ways after leaving Raven’s, Hoseok never would’ve imagined that Chan would be running a Host Bar/Restaurant and be as successful as he was. It was like Hoseok was watching his younger brother achieve everything he deserved to.

He always knew that Chan would find his family, though; there was something about the younger Black Cat that drew people to him, whether he knew it or not.

“Hoseok-ssi, you’ve got the more complicated schedule, how do you wanna do this?” Jisung asked, plopping down beside him while the various participants fanned out to take care of their respective scheduling. “You wanna come here in the mornings or want to meet up somewhere?”

Humming, Hoseok took out his phone to look at his calendar, holding it so Jisung could look at it at the same time. “So we’ve got like under two weeks? Is that going to be enough time?”

Jisung nodded. “Oh, yeah! We can get you up to speed in like a day. The trickiest stuff is just gonna be to naturally bring up ways for the customer to order drinks and food; the rest of it is just talking to them about whatever.”

“Oh! That sounds easy,” Hoseok said. He paused. “Well, no. Not _easy_ , but… simpler than I thought?” He looked back down at the calendar. “Okay, how about we try for every other day in the morning?”

Curiously, the Chimera were-cat leaned over the Black Cat’s shoulder and peered at the calendar application. “Those three days work the best; the rest of the time I’m waitstaff for lunch service.”

“Perfect! Here, let’s exchange numbers,” Hoseok said, grinning as they entered their numbers into each other’s phones. “Smile! I wanna add a cute picture of you to your contact profile.”

“All pictures of me are cute,” Jisung said with a laugh, shrieking like a wounded gazelle when Hyunjin slapped his shoulder as he passed by.

~ * ~

Hoseok threw an arm around Jungkook’s neck with a grin as the trio left _God’s Menu_. “I didn’t know you knew Channie!” he said. “And you worked for a street gang? So many _surprises_ , Jungkookie!”

Jungkook looked embarrassed. “It’s not like I was fighting anybody – no, that’s not totally true – but I was mostly a runner. Nobody could catch me so I was always running things back and forth between the Old Man and his contacts. I try not to think about what exactly I was running, but … it helped me survive on the street.”

“Gotta do what you gotta do,” San agreed. “Jisung and I would do all sorts of shit to stay alive. I’m sure Hobi-hyung was the same.”

Their hyung nodded as he continued to hang off Jungkook’s broader shoulder. “No judgment here!”

“Do you think … Taehyung’s going to think less of me, because of what I did back then?” Jungkook suddenly asked, a deep frown creasing his lips.

Hoseok and San exchanged a look before they both shook their heads. “I don’t think so,” Hoseok answered first, squeezing Jungkook gently.

“If he does, he’s an idiot.”

“Sannie!” Hoseok chastised.

San shrugged. “What? I’m sure we’d all love to do things above board to survive but sometimes shit sucks and you’ve gotta do some less-than-awesome things to ensure you’re not dead in a gutter. I’m sure Taehyung-ssi isn’t that type of person, but if he is, then… well, I know you two can work through it.” He rubbed his neck. “What I’m trying to say is: he knows you haven’t the smoothest ride through life. I’m sure it’ll be a shock but he’s a good guy. He’ll be with you a hundred percent.”

Nodding, Hoseok gave Jungkook a gentle nuzzle. “Sannie’s right; TaeTae’s a good guy and he’s stupidly in love with you. Now let me ask you a question – did you think any less of him when you learned about him and Yang?”

Jungkook blinked owlishly at him. “Of course not.”

“There you go! You learned a really ugly part of his past and you stood by him. This is… not quite the same, but it’s the same, you know?” Hoseok tapped Jungkook’s nose. “Trust him.”

Slowly, Jungkook nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Hoseok smiled and shook his head slightly; he sure had his hands full with these baby Black Cats. He had no idea how Raven could do it and _keep_ doing it, if he had so much trouble trying to keep Chan, Jungkook _and_ San from spiralling out and there was only three of them! “I’ve gotta get going so this is where we part, my darling children. Be good.”

San laughed and shared a tight hug with Hoseok, who happily returned it. “Say hi to Yoongi-hyung for me. Make sure he’s actually sleeping.”

“I don’t know if he knows what sleep means,” Jungkook snorted.

Hoseok laughed and rubbed his tattooed neck. “Preaching to the choir, there.” He gave a fond nuzzle to both San and Jungkook before breaking away from the pair, heading off towards the apartment that he and Yoongi shared. Even with all the time that he and Yoongi had been together, how long they’d been mated together - one year and counting! Not that Hoseok was counting - it all seemed so fresh still. It seemed like only the day before he was sneaking out of Raven’s estate to go to underground rap clubs to see the human perform.

As he looked up at the grey sky, a smile came to his lips and he poked at the multi-hued lip ring that hung over the right side of his bottom lip. It was only a handful of years ago that he was living on the street, moving from literal cardboard box to cardboard box or sleeping in the basement of the tattoo parlour he’d been apprenticing in. His family had abandoned him at the side of the road as a kitten, and the streets had been the only thing he’d known.

Maybe that’s what had drawn him to Yoongi in the first place; the quiet man from Daegu had a similar background but Yoongi had made the _choice_ to cut ties with his family. How they got to the streets was different, but they grew up there all the same. A wider smile came to Hoseok’s lips as he remembered the late nights and stupidly early mornings sitting out on the top of an abandoned warehouse with Yoongi, exchanging stories and laughing until they couldn’t keep their eyes open.

Those were his favourite memories.

Yoongi was a skeptic, but a surprisingly open minded one when it came to learning about Hoseok being not only a were-cat, but a Black Cat at that.

_“You don’t care about the whole Black Cat curse thing? Like… I can influence people’s emotions, Yoonie. I can make these magical glyphs that help my kind control their magic. Isn’t that… aren’t you freaked out? I could be really bad for you.”_

_“Hob-ah.”_

_“…Yoongi?”_

_“I make my own luck. Bring it on.”_

(I can’t believe he knew about the soulmate earring before I told him,) Hoseok thought in disbelief as he made his way to their shared apartment. (I guess I should’ve known he’d do a Google search but I didn’t think he’d take it _seriously_. Heh. Yoonie’s full of surprises.) He fumbled with his keys for a second before opening the door. “Yoonie! I’m home! Clear out Valentine’s Day, because—”

“…Hoseok…”

The pained, raspy voice that called his full name - Yoongi only ever called him Hoseok when things were serious - snapped the Black Cat to attention and he realized that something was very wrong. The apartment, usually spotless save for a few careless coffee cups strewn about by an insomniac Yoongi, was a mess and Hoseok’s yellow eyes widened when he saw the blood splatter on the floor.

“Yoonie!”

Hoseok gripped the doorframe as he found Yoongi, braced up in Hoseok’s studio with a bunched up sheet pressed against his shoulder. “Wh-What happened?! No, never mind — Yoongi, we have to get you to a hospital—”

Suddenly, the human’s hand reached up and snatched Hoseok’s wrist. “ _No hospitals_ ,” Yoongi hissed, his dark eyes burning with seriousness.

“Your shoulder got fucked up!” Hoseok countered, frowning. “We have to—”

Quickly and furiously, Yoongi shook his head, though he suddenly stopped when he got a wave of lightheadedness from the motion. “No. Hospitals. You know… fuck. You know how I feel about them, Hobi.”

“Okay, but hear me out - _you’re bleeding everywhere_ ,” Hoseok pointed out. He received a furious glare in response and sighed; there was no arguing with Yoongi when he was like this. Quickly, Hoseok slid his phone out of his pocket and speed-dialled BamBam, putting the call on speaker. “Hey! BamBam, how free are you right now?”

“Skrrt Skrrt Hobi-hyung! Just getting ready for lunch service. What’s up?”

“How quickly can you get to my place?? Yoongi … someone attacked Yoongi! And hospitals are out of the question! H-He hates them!” Hoseok said in a rush, holding onto his mate’s hand tightly. “It… it’s because of me! I can feel it!”

Yoongi flinched; it was clear that he had been trying to hold himself back from thinking about it too much. “It’s not your fault—”

“Hoseok, how bad is his injury?”

Startled to hear Raven’s voice, Hoseok took a second longer than he should’ve to respond. “It’s pretty bad, noona. He wrecked it on a delivery years ago and it healed awkwardly, so it’s just a mess. He’s lost a lot of blood!”

“Please send me a location pin, Hoseok. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

“R-Right!” Hoseok’s mind was racing and once the call ended, he scrambled to send a Google Maps pin to Raven, having to resend it about three times due to how badly his fingers were trembling.

“Take a deep breath, Hob-ah,” Yoongi said quietly. “Ain’t the first time I got shot.”

“ _What?_ ” Hoseok hissed, dropping his phone in surprise. “When were you going to tell me that you’d gotten _shot_ before?”

Yoongi at least had the grace to look guilty when he came under Hoseok’s incredulous stare. “I told you things weren’t the greatest when I was in Daegu, Hob-ah.”

“I didn’t think that included _getting shot_.”

“I’m going to be fine,” Yoongi protested. “Probably. I don’t really need _both_ my arms, do I?” He paused. “No, I can’t hold the camera, but I’ve got Kook and he’s got freakish strength. He could do it.”

Hoseok frowned at him. “How can you be making quips like this when you’re bleeding out?”

Yoongi shrugged. “Not much else I can do, and it helps take my mind off it.”

While his emotion-based Black Magic was no where near the realm of freaky accuracy or potency of Chan’s, he could still feel the anxiety and panic rising off Yoongi that he was trying so hard to push down for Hoseok’s sake. Frowning, Hoseok took Yoongi’s free hand and gave it a squeeze. “You’re going to be okay.”

“What’s your mentor going to do, Hobi?” Yoongi asked, brows furrowing. “I thought you said she mainly did illusion and like… telepathy shit.”

“…I don’t know,” Hoseok admitted. “But I wouldn’t put it past Miss. Raven to know how to do every type of magic. She’s really cagey about what she knows but she wouldn’t be at the head of the … I don’t know what to call it - cabal? - of Black Cats if she wasn’t strong.”

Yoongi nodded slowly. “How’d that meeting at Channie’s go?”

“Do you really want to talk about this now?” Hoseok asked in disbelief.

“I mean, what else are we going to do?” Yoongi shrugged and hissed, realizing quite quickly he shouldn’t have done it.

Hoseok frowned. “What happened? Why … did someone come here… looking for me?”

Yoongi looked away, a frown creasing his busted lips. “One of the kids’ Hex targets found the apartment. I guess they found out this is where we lived. I fucked them up worse than they fucked me up, if it helps.”

“I don’t know that it does,” Hoseok replied, frowning. “I’m sorry, Yoongi… I knew that there was a risk, but I was positive that it was just gonna stick to me, or Sannie or JK. You weren’t supposed to be involved at all!”

“It’s the risk of the work,” Yoongi said with a shake of his head. “I knew what I was getting into when we mated, Hobi. I don’t regret it.”

“But —” There was a knock at the door, and Hoseok shot to his feet. “That must be Miss. Raven!” He pressed a kiss to Yoongi’s forehead and hurried to the front door, carefully ensuring that it was actually his mentor before unlocking the door. “Thank you for coming so quickly, noona!”

Raven nodded slightly, pulling off her long coat as Hoseok stepped back to let her in. “This will stay between the two of us, Hoseok. Not a word of what happens here to anyone. If anyone asks, I used an advanced potion.”

Confused, Hoseok followed like a lost puppy behind his mentor as the older woman opened up the cuffs of her black button-down, rolling up her sleeves to reveal her tattoos. “I won’t tell anyone, but… _what_ aren’t I telling them?”

“What you witness here,” Raven replied simply as she knelt down beside Yoongi, helping him move the bloodied, bunched up sheet he’d been using to stop gap the bleeding. She flicked her blue-eyed gaze to Yoongi and nodded slightly. “This is going to hurt. Do you want a belt or something to bite down on?”

Yoongi’s brows knitted together. “How bad?”

“On a scale of one to ten, I’m going to reconstruct your entire shoulder and the muscle attached to it,” Raven answered plainly as she adjusted her sleeves, pressing a hand to her Black Cat Mark that went from her wrist up towards her upper forearm.

Hoseok’s eyes widened. “Noona … — that’s the glyph for _Necromancy_.” Of all the types of Black Magic, Necromancy was considered to be the most taboo; the ability to reverse grave injuries, and in the case of a very powerful Black Cat, revive the dead or animate skeletons was considered too far, even for their kind. “Is… is that your _real_ specialty?”

“…Yes,” Raven admitted. “Hoseok, can you get a belt or something for him to bite into? Or a thin wallet? It’s going to be unpleasant to feel, to say the least.”

“R-Right.” The younger Black Cat scrambled to his feet and hurried over to the closet, grabbing one of Yoongi’s old belts that had seen better days and brought it over. “Will this do?”

“That’ll do,” Raven confirmed. She turned to Yoongi and exhaled softly. “I’m sorry about this, but I’m going to have to strip you out of your shirt.” A wry smile came to her lips. “I’ll buy you dinner afterwards, I promise.”

Yoongi snorted. “Deal.” He’d braced himself for the exertion of having to move his injured shoulder so his shirt could be pulled over his head, but instead found that his shirt was practically shredded as Raven tore it. “Jesus.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened. “I feel like I should be jealous or something but i’m honestly just impressed.”

His mentor smirked faintly and shook her head, folding the belt and holding it out for Yoongi to bite into. “Hoseok, hold his good hand. You’ll both need to ground each other while this is going on. I won’t be cognizant enough to pay attention to what he needs so you’re going to have to pay close attention.”

“Got it.” Hoseok moved so he was out of Raven’s immediate way, taking Yoongi’s good hand in his. “Squeeze me three times in a row if you need her to stop, okay?” Yoongi nodded, exhaling deeply through his nose.

Raven pushed herself up and went to the kitchen, getting two bowls and several small towels. She filled one bowl with lukewarm water and kept the other one empty. “This isn’t the worst injury I’ve had to ‘heal’,” Raven started as she cleaned up Yoongi’s wound, clearing away the dried blood and drying the human’s shoulder. “It won’t take longer than an hour… maybe two, given the previous damage from the accident. — Okay, I’m starting now. Deep breath, Yoongi-ssi.”

Yoongi nodded back and closed his eyes, exhaling sharply through his nose. He squeezed Hoseok’s hand and relaxed his shoulder as much as he could. “Mmf,” he confirmed.

“Cute,” Raven chuckled, earning herself a brief blush from Yoongi before she settled down to get to work. Her eyes turned from midnight blue to pitch black as her Black Cat mark pulsed, black and green wisps of energy curling around her nails which were now crimson red.

Hoseok’s eyes widened as she pressed the tips of her fingers to the wound, her nails acting like a conduit to which her magic flowed into Yoongi’s injury. Any exclamation died in his throat as he watched his mentor work with the precision of a surgeon, and he abruptly turned his attention to Yoongi, pressing soft kisses to his temple or squeezing his hand, making sure that Yoongi could focus on him at least somewhat instead of the excruciating pain.

Realizing he had to do something to break the silence, Hoseok began to talk. “Channie is going to be doing a Gothy Valentine’s Day,” he started, swallowing tightly. “We’re all going to be doing hosting gigs with the regular hosts. Can you imagine, Yoonie? Me? A host?” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with a free hand. “Channie paired me with Jisung - you remember him, right? He’s the Chimera who was at your studio with Joonie and Hongjoonie.”

Relief washed over him as he could see Yoongi relax a little. Tears slid down his mate’s cheek and Hoseok carefully wiped them away with the side of his thumb.

“Oh! And Jungkookie knew Channie from their days in a street gang. Can you believe it? He used to run with some gangster named Old Man Crow. He had the cutest nickname, too! He was Bun, Channie was Roo, and Minho and Changbin were Lee Know and Spear! I don’t know how they got cooler names than Channie and JK,” Hoseok laughed, desperate to keep the mood light.

It was difficult; it was hard for him to keep his eyes away from Raven practically reconstructing the muscle and bone inside of Yoongi’s shoulder. The Black Magic energy swirled and poured itself into the wound, and Hoseok’s throat dried out as he realized that it was _working_.

He cleared his throat. “I don’t know if you’re gonna be well enough for this, but I was gonna take you to Channie’s for Valentine’s Day and I was gonna host you. You think you’d still be up for that? Seeing me make an ass out of myself?” Hoseok grinned sheepishly.

Yoongi smirked, his gums slightly showing over the death grip his teeth had on the belt. He nodded, and squeezed Hoseok’s hand.

Finally, roughly two hours later, Raven’s eyes shifted back to their usual colouring and she closed up the wound, leaving a dark scar in the shape of a black raven’s wing. “I apologize, but there’s no way to get rid of the scar; it’s kind of like a signature. I’ve tried over the years to just close the wound and make it appear as if nothing’s happened, but…” She sighed. “I suppose it’s to know exactly who dared to use the forbidden magic.” Carefully, Raven removed the belt from Yoongi’s mouth and wiped his lips with a handkerchief. “How do you feel?”

“Fucking rough,” Yoongi coughed, his voice raw. “Got any Tylenol-3’s?”

Raven smiled faintly. “Yes, but you didn’t get them from me. — here, let me help you up.” Without waiting for Hoseok to help, Raven easily picked up Yoongi and helped him onto the bed in the master bedroom while Hoseok raced to line up the pillows so he had something soft to brace up against.

“…Hob-ah, I love you, you’re my soulmate but that was _really_ fucking hot,” Yoongi said, looking over at his mate dazedly.

Hoseok shook his head quickly. “I’m right there with you. It sucks that she’s Seokjin-hyung’s soulmate. — No, wait. It totally works; he’s totally got a strength kink.”

Raven looked at him oddly, though she was trying to withhold her smirk as she cleaned herself up, reaffixing her sleeves to their initial state. “How do you even _know_ that?”

“He gets a bit loose lipped when he’s drunk,” Yoongi replied airily, eagerly taking the painkillers and water from Raven. “…Noona, thank you. I… I really owe you.”

Raven shook her head. “No, none of that. If I can use this cursed Magic of mine for good, I will. I just hope Hoseok will forgive me for marking you.” She gave a faint chuckle.

Hoseok laughed breathlessly, delirious with relief. “I think I can look past it.” He bowed deeply. “But noona, thank you. This is… this is way more than I expected. Thank you, thank you!” Quickly, and despite himself, he pulled her into a tight hug. “I was so worried… I was so, so worried… he’s my home.”

Surprised into stillness, Raven’s arms were slow to come around Hoseok, but she smiled and hugged him back warmly. “You’re stronger than you think, Hobi,” she whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. “Keep an eye on him and make sure he rests; he should be able to move around freely in a couple of days but he can’t be lifting anything heavy for the next couple of months to ensure his muscles get the hang of things again.”

The younger Black Cat nodded seriously. “I understand, Noona.” He looked down at his hands, still faintly stained with blood. “This happened because of me, though… because I take those Hex requests…”

“There’s always a risk, no matter what you do,” Raven started carefully, taking Hoseok’s hands in hers. “Our magic _is_ inherently negative but we do our best to use it for good. The world is complicated and those who wronged will feel wronged themselves; we can’t help that.” She gave his tattooed hands a squeeze. “Remember, glyphs can be used for things other than being tattooed on someone.”

Confusion coloured Hoseok’s handsome features before his yellow eyes widened in realization. “I can put wards on the apartment! Oh my God how did I not know that?” He put a hand to his forehead, his expression almost comical in its devastation. Hoseok groaned and pressed his face against Raven’s shoulder, shaking his head. “I’m so dumb!”

Amused, Raven lightly threaded her fingers through his hair, giving him a little scratch at the nape of his neck with her nails. “Cute. Come on, let’s set up these glyphs before I have to leave.” Hoseok pouted and nodded, following his mentor to the front portion of the apartment and following along as they used their magic to ‘paint’ the glyphs around the frame of the door and around the windowsills. “Have more confidence in your skills, Hoseok; you’re very talented.”

“It sure doesn’t feel like it sometimes,” Hoseok mumbled, but he nodded. “I’ll try.” With a nod, Raven pulled her coat back on and picked up her bag, heading off without another word. After he closed the door and reapplied the locks and the glyph seal, Hoseok checked in with Yoongi - he was out like a light - before setting to work cleaning up the apartment. It felt good to have something menial to focus on while he was left alone with his thoughts, as menial as it could be to clean blood off his floor and walls.

Exhausted from the traumatic events of the last couple of hours, Hoseok didn’t think twice about shifting to his Black Cat form after ensuring Yoongi was properly tucked in. He curled into a little black ball at Yoongi’s side, resting his little head in the crook of the rapper’s neck.

~ * ~

“Thanks for coming, sorry to change the location on you at the last minute,” Hoseok apologized, stepping back to let Jisung into the apartment. The Chimera looked around curiously, his dual-coloured eyes widening as he looked at the awards that Yoongi had won as AGUST D. “Yoongi got hurt and he’s on strict bedrest.”

Jisung snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. “It’s all good, hyung! BamBam-hyung asked me to bring this to you - it’ll help Yoongi-ssi recover a bit faster but he should stay in bed as long as Miss. Raven told him to.” He dug around in his messenger bag, carefully pulling out a black velvet bag that held a glass bottle and holding it out to the Black Cat. “He said pour the equivalent of one shot glass once per day, best at breakfast and have it with food. It tastes pretty funky.”

Blinking slowly, Hoseok then beamed and took the bottle with a bow. “Thank you, Jisungie! Just let me put this away and we can get started. I’d bring you in to say hi to Yoongi but he’s out like a light.”

As he gave the Black Cat a sheepish smile, Jisung shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. How’s he doing?”

“Surprisingly well,” Hoseok replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Miss. Raven really is something else. — I’ll be right back.” He bowed slightly and took the potion into the master bedroom, delaying just a moment as he checked on Yoongi. His mate was still sleeping soundly, dressed in fluffy, loose pajamas, and his scar looked as fine as it did the a few days ago. Hoseok lightly trailed a finger along the black wing on Yoongi’s shoulder, the quill and feather raised slightly off the skin, almost as if his mate had been tattooed. The Black Cat kissed the human’s forehead and returned to the living room. “Would you like some tea, Jisungie?”

“Sure! Thank you, hyung.” Jisung peeled off his coat and hung it up, taking off his boots and placing them on the rubber mat. He picked up his messenger bag and sat where Hoseok indicated, on the couch. “You still wanna do this? No worries if you have to back out because of Yoongi-ssi’s injury.”

Hoseok hummed as he put the kettle on, taking down two mugs and plopping a teabag into each. “I asked Yoongi, and he still wants to do it so I’m still in.” Once the tea was finished, Hoseok poured it and brought it over to where the young were-cat was sitting.

“I’m surprised you told him about it! Everybody else is keeping it a surprise,” Jisung commented, picking up the mug and blowing gently at the hot liquid. “I mean, the only other person that knows outside of Yoongi-ssi is Minho-hyung because he works there.”

The Black Cat grinned. “And how are you two doing?”

Embarrassed to have the attention on himself, Jisung looked down at the mug, letting the steam coat his face. “Good,” he said finally, cheeks heating up as he smiled shyly. “Going slow. Just kind of… seeing where it goes, you know?”

“…something bothering you?” Hoseok asked gently, tilting his head slightly. “Something about Valentine’s Day?”

Jisung stared at him. “Do you have mind reading powers?” he asked quietly, dumbfounded.

Hoseok blinked back at him before laughing into his hand. “No, but my secondary Black Magic is like Channie’s only he’s way better at it than I am. I can sense you’re super apprehensive about something coming up and I took a guess.”

“Minho-hyung… I think Valentine’s Day has some really bad memories for him,” Jisung answered finally, his voice barely audible as he was seemingly speaking into his mug. “He won’t say anything about it but he gets… really distant and cold around this time of the year. I don’t know if I should go through with this date thing on the 14th, but I also… I wanna make _some_ good memories with him on that day, you know? Yeah it’s a stupid corporate holiday but it can be fun, too, you know?”

The Black Cat made a soft sound and nodded, taking a sip from his mug himself. “No bad guys on either side,” he agreed. “Has he said anything about not wanting to do the hosting date?”

Jisung shook his head. “I’ve asked him a couple times if he’s still okay with it and he just… shrugs and says it’s fine. It might feel like I’m forcing him into something he doesn’t want to do.”

“It could,” Hoseok admitted. “Oh! Maybe _don’t_ make it a big deal?”

“…I’m not following.”

Hoseok waved his tattooed hand in a vague gesture. “Like, don’t go all out, just make it like an intimate little thing between the two of you. Talk to him, see if you can get him to relax a bit and feel safe with you on a day he typically hates. Baby steps.”

Realization dawned in Jisung’s dual-coloured eyes. “Oh, like start off with something small and stripped down and work my way up to an official fancy date?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Hoseok confirmed with a nod. “Make him feel as comfortable as you can; like he’s really a client and you’re the host making sure he has a good time.”

Jisung laughed a little and took another sip from his mug. “I don’t know how much I need to train you, you’ve really got this thing nailed already, hyung,” he said, impressed. “Though I guess what we can practice is how to work in suggestions to order drinks and food. We’re a business after all.”

Hoseok giggled. “Maybe don’t try and up sell your boyfriend on drinks and food stuffs on your date.”

“I wasn’t going to!” Jisung protested, laughing. “Not after you said that.” He winked salaciously, causing both himself and Hoseok to collapse into a fit of giggles, both were-cats having to work doubly hard not to spill their tea everywhere.

~ * ~

“…Please stop staring at me like that,” Namjoon muttered as he drove Yoongi towards _God’s Menu_. “I’m not going to crash us into a pole but I will if you keep doing that.”

Yoongi looked unrepentant as he sat in the passenger seat, dressed in the nicest suit he owned. “I’m just making sure one of us is paying attention.”

Namjoon rolled his eyes. “I’m _fine_ as a driver I just don’t like to drive,” he explained, making a careful left turn. “But seeing as how my friend of _ten years_ needed a ride to his Valentine’s Date, I thought I would do him this favour. I am currently regretting making this decision because my friend of _ten years_ doesn’t trust me not to kill him.”

With a loud groan, Yoongi slunk down further in his seat, suitably guilted. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” Namjoon replied, a smile on his lips and dimples dotting his tanned cheeks. He carefully pulled into a parking spot and killed the engine, getting out first so he could help Yoongi out of the passenger side. “Let me know if you need me to pick you and Hoseok-hyung up.”

“Will do,” Yoongi confirmed, and gave Namjoon an one-armed hug with his good arm. “Thanks, Joon-ah.”

Namjoon smiled and broke away from the hug, heading back to the car. “Have a good Valentine’s Day, hyung. I better get going before Jimin gets angry with me for being late.”

Yoongi snorted. “Jimin’s always late, he has no room to talk. How the hell he manages to get Tae to his schedules on time is one of the world’s biggest mysteries.”

“Get inside already!” Namjoon lectured, shaking his head and making a ‘shoo’ motion with his hand. True to form, Namjoon waited until Yoongi went inside the Host Bar before heading off to his own Valentine’s Day plans.

The Rapper could feel the cold pierce through his still healing shoulder, as although he felt better than he had in years, his muscles were still getting accustomed to working properly. He felt guilty, having Jungkook tag along on jobs just to be a pack mule when he was already handling so much with _God’s Menu_ ’s Valentine’s Day promo photography and all his other work, but the young Black Cat was happy to help - especially if it meant lessening the stress on his Hoseok-hyung.

With a soft grunt, Yoongi opened one of the double doors and stepped into _God’s Menu_. He hadn’t been there since his one year anniversary dinner with Hoseok, but he definitely knew it didn’t look like it stepped out of an Anne Rice novel. Letting out a low whistle, Yoongi craned his neck as best he could to take it all in, a part of him wishing that he brought his small digital camera to take a few shots. He did, however, have his phone and as he fumbled with it to take a wide shot of the gorgeous main floor, Yoongi noticed someone walking over to him and quickly took a picture before slipping his phone back into his pocket.

It was Jisung, dressed in a sharp crimson suit accented in black that set off his dual coloured hair. He smiled brightly when he saw Yoongi and bowed respectfully. “Yoongi-ssi! Welcome to _God’s Menu_. Ready for your date?”

“Yo, Jisung-ah,” Yoongi greeted, bowing as well as he could while favouring his shoulder. “How’s Hobi been doing as your partner?”

Jisung smiled. “He’s a natural! Everybody’s fallen in love with him and he’s had to let a few customers down easy tonight that he’s not actually a host.” He gave Yoongi a gentle elbow to his good side. “You’re a lucky man!”

“I am,” Yoongi admitted earnestly, causing Jisung to put his hands to his mouth in an attempt to stop his cooing. “Ah, is Miss. Raven here? I wanted to give her something. She helped me out of a pretty big bind.”

The Chimera were-cat blinked at him owlishly before the statement registered. “Yeah, for sure! She’s just getting ready for Mr. Kim so she’s free for the moment.” He led the rapper over to where Raven was sitting, dressed to kill in a gorgeous outfit that not only showed off her figure, but her beautifully designed and inked tattoos. “Miss. Raven! You have a quick visitor.”

Raven blinked and looked up from her phone, smiling as she saw Yoongi standing behind Jisung. “Yoongi-ssi. How are you feeling?”

Bowing slightly, Yoongi gave her a small, grateful smile. “Sore, but a hell of a lot better than I have in years. You really put yourself out there to help me out and I hate owing people… so here.” He held out a medium sized gift bag with a generic heart pattern on the paper and bowed slightly when Raven gently took it with a grateful inclination of her head. “It’s a bath bomb package,” Yoongi explained as she looked at him quizzically. “You looked tired as hell when you came to help me out. Figured this would help.”

Raven’s carefully crafted expression faltered slightly, and she looked down at the contents of the bag once more. “That’s so thoughtful,” she said quietly, as if in complete disbelief. She raised her head and gave Yoongi a genuine smile, causing the rapper to blush. “Thank you, Yoongi-ssi.”

“It’s nothing,” Yoongi said hastily, waving a hand. “I hope it helps.” He turned to Jisung. “Sorry, we can head over to Hobi now.”

Jisung bowed deeply to both he and Raven before leading Yoongi towards a cute little set up in the corner of the main floor, where Hoseok was fidgeting like someone put him on an earthquake fault line; he was barely able to hold onto the tablet in his hands. “Here is your host for the evening, Jung Hoseok,” Jisung introduced, bowing respectfully. “Please enjoy your time here at _God’s Menu_ and have a Happy Valentine’s Day.”

Yoongi waited until Jisung disappeared further into the Bar before carefully sitting down across from his mate. “Hob-ah, you look like you’re about to vibrate out of your skin,” he teased. “You don’t have to actually host me. I’m fine with a simple dinner; I’d prefer it, actually.”

“You sure you’re okay?” Hoseok asked, bright yellow eyes wrought with concern. “Joonie didn’t run into anything bringing you here, did he?”

“Poor Joon-ah; neither of us have any faith in him,” Yoongi chuckled as he took Hoseok’s tattooed hand in his. “And he’s fine. _I’m_ fine. — and it’s not your fault, what happened. It was gonna happen one way or the other, if not because of some asshole feeling like he didn’t have it coming or someone I pissed off coming for me… shit happens.”

Hoseok frowned. “How can you be so blasé about it? I mean …” he leaned in and whispered, “Miss. Raven had to use _that_ to help you. It’s … it was serious, Yoonie.”

“I’m not downplaying it, but what are we going to do about it now? Neither of us can go back in time,” Yoongi pointed out. “And I really don’t want you beating yourself up over something you had no control over, Hobi. We’re just able to go forward, you know?” He took Hoseok’s hand again, squeezing it comfortingly.

The Black Cat looked down at their hands and chewed on his lip, worrying at his lip ring. “What if something happened to Sannie or JK next? I’d never forgive myself.”

“Yah, Hoseok… who died and made you everyone’s protector?” Yoongi asked gently, pressing a kiss to his mate’s temple. “They’re big boys; they can handle themselves.”

“That’s not — I’m the hyung! I’m the one filtering the requests, I should be more careful,” Hoseok protested, his shoulders hunching up. “And then you got hurt instead of me! I just… I wish I had my shit together more.”

Yoongi chuckled softly and pressed a gentle kiss to Hoseok’s mouth, tilting his head slightly so he could nuzzle his mate. “Hoseok. You put too much on yourself.” Gently, Yoongi reached up with his free hand, scratching the nape of the Black Cat’s nape - it was a trick he’d learned in the early days of their relationship that it would help calm Hoseok down when he got into one of his spirals.

Hoseok looked at his mate with conflicted eyes. “But they look up to me. Everybody thinks I have all the answers but I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Nobody knows what they’re doing,” Yoongi pointed out, kissing Hoseok’s lip ring. “We’re all faking it. Even your mentor.”

“I don’t know about that,” Hoseok mumbled.

Huffing out a little exhale, Yoongi tilted Hoseok’s chin up and kissed him again. “Promise without a promise, remember, Hobi? Doesn’t matter what happens, I’m here with you and I’m not going anywhere. You marked me right the fuck up so you’re stuck with me now, and I’m gonna make sure you know how damn good you are. Got it?”

Hearing the words they’d repeated to each other in the dark of night, in the early hours of the morning when no soul would be awake, Hoseok’s yellow eyes widened and he felt fresh tears prick at the corner of his eyes. Quickly, he turned away, trying to stop the tears before it smudged his eyeliner. “I don’t know why everybody thinks so highly of me,” he admitted softly, turning his head to look at his mate.

“Either we’re all suffering a collective hallucination or you’re a really good person, Hobi,” Yoongi replied, a small smirk curling his lips as he gently brushed some of Hoseok’s hair out of his eyes. “My money’s on the latter.”

“Pardon the intrusion,” came a voice and Hoseok jumped, seeing Yugyeom standing nearby with two plates in his hand and a stand set up that held the other plates from the other order he’d put in. “Here’s the first half of your Valentine’s Day set. How’s everything going?”

Yoongi gave Hoseok’s hand a little squeeze. “Just soulmate things,” he joked.

Yugyeom laughed a little and nodded, deftly setting down the plates and arranging them neatly. He paused as he heard a peal of laughter from BamBam’s station at the bar and shook his head fondly. “…do you mind if I ask a quick question?”

Hoseok blinked. “Sure.” He vaguely remembered Yugyeom - or at least, had heard Jungkook’s story about how he’d finally seen BamBam get flustered when they’d gone component shopping - and how Jungkook, the auntie and everyone at _God’s Menu_ was hoping they’d get together.

“Sorry, this is probably too much, but… how do I … ugh.” Frustrated, Yugyeom ran a hand through his shaggy black and white hair. “I know my soulmate is a Black Cat and I know exactly who it is. But… how do I convince them that I’m fine with it? That he doesn’t need to stress the hell out about it?”

Yoongi shared a look with Hoseok and smiled. “You’re going to hate my answer.”

“Please don’t say just talk to him.”

“Just talk to him.”

“Damn it.” Yugyeom sighed and laughed. “I knew it.”

Yoongi chuckled and squeezed Hoseok’s hand. “They’re skittish and stubborn, these Black Cats; they’re prone to frequent fits of self-doubt and they spiral pretty easily. You’re gonna have to be just as stubborn with your support; it’s a long road but it’s worth it.” He turned and gave Hoseok a genuine, warm smile, causing his mate to blush furiously and duck his head. “Stay. That’s the best advice I can give. Stay with them and they’ll realize you’re serious. Give them time, give them space.”

Quietly, Yugyeom listened and nodded, holding one of the empty platters close to his chest as he considered the rapper’s words. “Yeah. That’s true. — Ah, sorry. I’ve been taking up your precious date time. Please, excuse me. And thank you.” He bowed deeply and cleared away the platters, taking it and the fold-up stand away, disappearing into the kitchen.

“Yoonie…”

Turning to face his mate, Yoongi pressed a kiss to their intertwined fingers. “Let’s enjoy this meal, yeah, Hob-ah? I think we both deserve it.”

Slowly, a warm smile came to Hoseok’s lips and he nodded. “Yeah.”

~ * ~

Hoseok groaned as he sunk into their bathtub/jacuzzi, never more thankful for Yoongi’s interior design kinks and his bath bomb obsession than in that moment. He blinked as a pair of arms came around him and pulled him into a waiting - and naked - lap. “Your shoulder!” he chastised.

Yoongi rolled his eyes and nuzzled at the mating mark on Hoseok’s neck, surrounded by a beautiful border with the rapper’s name hidden in the filigree. “I can’t lift heavy things; you don’t count as a heavy thing,” he muttered.

“I’m heavier than you should be lifting,” Hoseok protested. “Just because — …hnn… noo, that’s not fair,” he whined, head lolling back as Yoongi began to kiss and suck at the mating mark he’d left a year prior. “You know.. h-how sensitive I am to that…”

He could feel Yoongi’s trademark smirk against his rapidly flushing skin. “I know. I’m doing it on purpose. Been a while since you’ve let me take care of you; I’m not going to let the chance get away from me now that I’ve got you in one spot. I can’t do too much, but I can do this.”

Hoseok huffed out a laugh, but it was clear how much he was being affected by his mate’s laser-focused touches and kisses. “Gonna show me your _tongue technology_?”

Yoongi snorted. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“No, no, take me to Hong Kong. You promised.” Hoseok let out a small yelp as Yoongi gave a particularly sharp bite to his mating mark as his hands travelled lower.

“We’re staying grounded tonight,” Yoongi snickered, watching with sharp eyes as Hoseok began to writhe in his lap, always exceptionally sensitive to anything at his neck or between his legs. “I wish I could do more to you, Hoseok… always love hearing you come undone because of my fingers… they reach a lot further than yours do, don’t they?” A wicked smirk creased his lips as he sucked at Hoseok’s soulmate earring. “Remember when I caught you that one time?”

“Nngh, shut up,” Hoseok breathed, biting down on his lip as Yoongi kept him firmly in place. “I thought we agreed we’d never bring that up again.”

“I didn’t agree to anything,” Yoongi replied blithely, skilled fingers working his soulmate slowly and methodically, knowing Hoseok’s body inside and out from years of being together. “You assumed I did.”

Hoseok whined and his lips fell open in a hot moan as his back arched, head safely resting in the crook of Yoongi’s shoulder. “I hate how good you are at this,” he whined. “It’s just a hand job but you’re… _fuck_.”

Yoongi chuckled lowly against Hoseok’s ear, nipping it hotly. “I know your buttons,” he whispered, using the gravelly lilt to his voice that he knew affected his soulmate right down to the core. “I know just how hard to press, how gentle, how slow to _press_ , to _hold…_ you’re the best book I’ve ever read, Hoseok; I’m never gonna get tired of you, of _hearing_ you.”

An embarrassingly high keen left Hoseok’s mouth and he couldn’t even bring his hands up to cover his mouth; Yoongi had his arms expertly pinned back while he worked Hoseok with his sinfully skilled hand. His equally sinful mouth was lavishing love and attention to the Black Cat’s mating mark, the pulse of their shared connection heightened when they were in sync like this. “Shuh … Shut up … you’re so … embarrassing…”

“Is it embarrassing if you like it? No, if you _love_ it?” Yoongi murmured, his smirk widening as he could feel the telltale signs of Hoseok hurtling towards his climax: the quickened breaths, the higher pitched whines, the way his nails would dig into whatever available part of Yoongi there was, the way his abdomen would flex with the exertion of trying to hold himself back. “Come for me, Hoseok… I wanna see you let go, I wanna see you fall … I’ll be here.”

A choked moan tumbled past Hoseok’s trembling lips as his vision partially blacked out when the full force of his climax hit him. His back arched as taut as a bowstring, nails digging into his soulmate’s thighs as his head lolled back as if he were a rag doll. He might have been calling Yoongi’s name, but he was so dizzy and pleasure dumb, he could’ve been talking in Greek for all he knew.

“Fuck, Hoseok, you’re so beautiful,” Yoongi whispered as he wrapped his arms warmly around his mate’s trembling form. “You’re amazing. Loving. Caring. Sweet. Protective. Fierce. Stubborn as fuck. I love you. You know that, right?”

“I… I…” Hoseok blinked a few times, coming out of the intense haze slowly and with a bit of a tremble. “Yoongi…” He reached up behind him, turning his head so he could capture his soulmate’s lips in a kiss. “You’re some kind of witch, what the fuck was that?”

Yoongi blinked and laughed, snuggling his mate as the now cool water sloshed around them. “I love you too.”

Embarrassed, Hoseok hunched up his shoulders and kissed him again. “I love you, Yoonie. Thank you for believing in this hot mess.”

“Always.”

“You were supposed to dispute the mess part.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TT__TT did y'all see Yoongi say he wants to give Hoseok his decorated photocard so Hobi could keep it in his wallet


	4. SeongJoong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seonghwa's surprise for Valentine's Day for his boyfriend is to bring Hongjoong for a date at God's Menu. Hongjoong's surprise for Seonghwa is to repair and reconstruct Seonghwa's favourite jacket that got wrecked in a fire at the Host Bar. 
> 
> Somewhere in the middle, they have to corral five chaotic Black Cats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seonghwa and Hongjoong first appear in Part 3 (WooSan), and have their own story explored in Part 4. Hongjoong also shows up briefly in Part 5, Chapter 11.

**Hongjoong [9:00 a.m.]  
** Hey Felix  
I’m outside

 **Felix [9:01 a.m.]  
** Coming!  
Wow you’re really on time

 **Hongjoong [9:02 a.m.]  
** who told you I’d be late  
was it San  
he’s full of shit

Hongjoong could hear a loud peal of laughter from the other side of the double doors of the Bar, and he couldn’t help but smile when the Lynx were-cat opened the doors to let him in. “Morning Felix,” he greeted, bowing slightly. “Thanks for letting me in during off-hours; I know I’m not really a part of the crew or anything.”

Felix snorted as he closed up the doors behind Hongjoong. “You practically work here with how much our customers ship you and Seonghwa-hyung.”

“Wait, what?” Hongjoong asked, blinking slowly. “They what?”

“He hasn’t told you?” Felix asked in return, dumbfounded. “Oh, _mate_ , it’s mental.” He took Hongjoong’s hand and pulled him further into the Bar, barely waiting for Hongjoong to open up his winter coat. “All our customers like, high key ship the two of you since you came for Wooyoung’s birthday appointment.”

Hongjoong stared at him as a blush coloured his cheeks and he hoped Felix would think it was because he’d just been outside in the cold. “W-What? Wouldn’t they be upset that one of the hosts was dating someone? Like, he’s supposed to be selling the fantasy of being single like idols do, right?”

“Yeah, traditionally,” Felix confirmed as sat the older man down at one of the tables, where a small brunch was laid out. “And we’re, like, really surprised too but hey if it works none of us are going to try and fix it. They’re always asking Seonghwa-hyung about you and they really love the little stories he tells about you.”

Heat rose to Hongjoong’s face as he tried to focus on the breakfast that Felix was insisting he eat. “I don’t know how to process that,” he admitted shyly. “But I’m glad it’s not affecting Hwa’s work negatively. — thank you for breakfast, by the way; you didn’t have to do this.”

Felix scoffed and waved a hand. “We had a lot of leftovers since Channie, Binnie and Hannie have a bug up their arses about working on a new song today. They barely ate anything and ran upstairs to start working.”

Despite himself, Hongjoong’s curiosity was piqued; he’d worked briefly with Chan, Jisung and Changbin for a song that would become the Bar’s theme roughly two and a half years ago and there had always been a part of him that hoped to run into them again. “Oh, so they’re working on new stuff right now?”

“Yeah, they release their stuff to SoundCloud and it’s gotten pretty popular,” Felix explained, sitting down across from him. He watched Hongjoong carefully for a long moment before he grinned. “…You wanna go up there and see, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” Hongjoong confessed, grinning back sheepishly. “But I came here for a real reason. Were you able to save the jacket?”

Felix’s green eyes widened and he nodded, getting to his feet. “Yeah! Took a bit of work to make sure it didn’t get thrown out with the rest of the trash. Your text came in like, _right_ at the nick of time. Any later and it would’ve been gone. — one sec!” Felix briefly left the table, heading downstairs to the basement suite and returning after a while with a garment bag.

Quickly finishing up his late breakfast, Hongjoong set down his chopsticks and with a nod of thanks, took the bag from Felix. He sat it in his lap and opened the drawstring, carefully pulling out the burnt up denim jacket that had at one point been Seonghwa’s favourite. “He was in a funk for days after this happened,” Hongjoong commented, slender fingers carefully straightening the burnt denim to see the extent of the damage.

“It helped put out a fire, though?” Felix offered, smiling sheepishly. “God, though, Jeongin’s been following him around like a puppy, apologizing for grabbing it instead of another cloth. You should’ve seen it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so guilt-ridden.”

“Making Seonghwa upset is like, the worst feeling,” Hongjoong agreed. “Hwa said he forgave him, though?”

“Jeonginie still feels guilty,” Felix explained, rubbing his neck as he sat back down next to Hongjoong. He tilted his head curiously as he watched Hongjoong spread the jacket out on an open spot on the table. “What are you going to do with it?”

Hongjoong slowly pushed himself out of his seat, eyes sharp as he looked over the garment. “I like restructuring clothes and remixing them, but with, like, a different style? If that makes sense. I thought I’d do this for Hwa for Valentine’s Day.”

Felix’s eyes brightened and he smiled widely. “That’s so sweet. — do you think you’ll have enough time? You two are in University still, right?”

“Yeah,” Hongjoong sighed. “Final year, whoo.” He twirled his finger. “It’s gonna be close, but I should be able to get it all finished before the 14th. Keeping it from Hwa isn’t going to be that difficult; between midterms and working here, he’s going to be busy.” He slipped out his phone and pulled up a thread from the messages app. “I need a place to work on this, though; my apartment’s not going to work this time… oh! I know. —I hope she’s in a good mood,” Hongjoong muttered as he began to type.

 **Hongjoong [9:45 a.m.]  
** Morning, Yuna-noona  
Is it okay if I use the workshop for a couple days this week?  
No worries if you’re in the middle of something  
I know you’re busy

 **Yuna [9:50 a.m.]   
**Good Morning, Hongjoong  
Which days/time? 

**Hongjoong [9:51 a.m.]  
** Saturday/Sunday all day for sure  
to be safe, I might need Tues/Thurs  
probably evenings for that  
I’m restructuring Seonghwa’s favourite jacket  
it died in a fire at God’s Menu

 **Yuna [9:53 a.m.]   
**That’s quite a lot to unpack

 **Hongjoong [9:54 a.m.]  
** Not really, it’s practically in pieces lol

 **Yuna [9:55 a.m.]   
**Cheeky  
Yes, that’s fine.  
In exchange, I may ask that you assist with five… lively boys that I’ve taken in while I am out of the estate on business, while you’re working on your item. 

**Hongjoong [9:56 a.m.]  
** Oh, Yeo mentioned them  
Sure, I can help  
Thank you, noona!

 **Yuna [9:58 a.m.]   
**You’re welcome.  
and thank you; I’ll send you the new code for the door. 

**Hongjoong [10:00 a.m.]  
** I should be thanking *you* Noona  
k - I won’t keep you any longer!  
Have a great day :)

 **Yuna [9:58 a.m.]   
**You as well, Hongjoong. 

Felix peered curiously over Hongjoong’s shoulder, half hanging off him. “Who’s Yuna-noona?” he asked, knowing full well it wasn’t any of his business. “You don’t have a secret girlfriend, do you? I’m not afraid to throw hands on behalf of Seonghwa-hyung and our customers!” He held up his small fists in an attempt to look threatening.

Hongjoong blinked and snorted. “No, nothing like that. She’s the older sister of one of my good friends, Yeosang. She has clothing line and has a workshop at their house that’s really killer; I’ve used it a couple of times over the years when I’m working on something. I was hoping she’d have it free and not be in the middle of prepping a new line.”

“That’s pretty cool!” Felix enthused. “Do you have a picture? I wanna see.”

Hyunjin draped himself over Felix’s shoulders, now adding an extra bit of weight to Hongjoong’s back; it really was no different than hanging out with his friends at school, he thought tiredly. “What’s going on over here? What brings you by, Hongjoong-ssi? Seonghwa-hyung’s not supposed to be here until the evening,” Hyunjin said, curious.

Felix turned and grinned at his best friend. “Hongjoong’s gonna repair the jacket that Jeonginie accidentally burnt!”

“Oh that’s really cute!” Hyunjin cooed, reaching down to poke at Hongjoong’s reddening cheek. “He was so sad when that jacket got burned up by Jeonginie.”

Jeongin groaned loudly from where he was on the steps, coming up from the basement suite. “Can you stop bringing it up? I feel awful; I’ve never seen Seonghwa-hyung so bummed out.” He idly rubbed at his soulmate earring, though it could be more accurately described as half of one.

Carefully shrugging both Felix and Hyunjin off, Hongjoong offered Jeongin a small smile. “He’s not mad at you, I promise. He knows it was an accident. Plus, I should thank you! Now I have something I can give him for Valentine’s Day!” he winked. “You really helped me out there, Jeongin-ssi.”

Jeongin’s bluish-green eyes widened and he looked relieved. “Really?”

Hongjoong nodded seriously. “Really.” He carefully packed the jacket back up into the garment bag, zipping it up gently. “Okay, I’ve got a bit more time so I’m gonna go say hi to Chan and the others. Thanks, Felix!” He grinned and stood, setting everything down on the chair he’d been occupying.

“Hey, you said you’d show me a picture of this Yuna-noona!”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you! Old age is getting to me!” Hongjoong called, purposefully making his voice get fainter and fainter as he headed up the steps to the upper level of _God’s Menu_. It was rather presumptuous of him, yes, but there wasn’t anything restricting his access and he figured that Chan would forgive him.

Well, he hoped he would.

As Hongjoong neared the upper level, he could hear the animated chatter from Changbin, Jisung and Chan and the loud, stuttered sound of a track being played, replayed and messed around with. Excitement bubbled up inside him as he came up the rest of the way, and he gave a bit of a knock to the opened door. “Yo~!” he greeted, raising a hand.

Chan blinked slowly in mild confusion before realization crossed his handsome features and he smiled, standing up to greet the younger man. “Hongjoong! It’s great to see you again,” he said, coming over to pull the blue-haired man into a hug. “How are you doing?”

“School’s sucking the will to live out of me, but I’m almost out the other side,” Hongjoong said with a laugh.

“Fuck the school system!” Jisung exclaimed from his station as he pulled down his headphones and pumped his fist. “I don’t know what you’re talking about but I assume that applies.”

Chan shook his head with a laugh. “What brings you by? Seonghwa’s not scheduled to be in until later tonight.”

Hongjoong held up the garment bag. “I’m gonna repair/reconstruct his jacket that got burned a little while ago; gonna be a v-day gift. Felix said you guys were working on something and I thought I’d pop by and see.” He grinned. “You know, just out of curiosity. I was in the neighbourhood.”

The Black Cat laughed again, nodding in understanding. “Of course, just because you were in the neighbourhood; I understand.”

“Right, purely coincidental,” Hongjoong agreed.

Changbin came over with Jisung, glad for the break. “Oh, that was for you?” he asked, pointing to the bag. “Felix was acting real weird when we were asking about it.”

“He’s going to remix Seonghwa’s jacket,” Chan explained. “I didn’t know you could do that; that’s pretty cool, Hongjoong-ah.”

Hongjoong grinned. “It’s more of a hobby, but I’m relieved; I had no idea what to do for Valentine’s Day… Seonghwa’s really looking forward to it and I’ve got the romantic creativity of a goldfish.”

Chan smiled gently. “I don’t know how true that is if _this_ is the idea that you came up with,” he pointed out, gesturing to the garment bag.

“Channie-hyung! Tell him to show you who Yuna-noona is!” Felix called from the base of the staircase. “He’s being weird and cagey about it and it’s making us all curious!”

“You’re just a gossip!” Hyunjin accused.

“Oh, like you’re not!” Felix snorted.

Hongjoong rolled his eyes with a rueful smile as now he was facing down three confused looks from Changbin, Chan and Jisung. “It’s nothing,” he said, waving his hand. “—what music are you guys working on?”

Suitably distracted by the prospect about talking about music, Changbin, Chan and Jisung nodded. “Not for the bar, but we’ve been releasing music under a shared name on SoundCloud and it’s been doing really well,” Changbin explained, beaming with pride. “—wanna listen?”

“Only _hell yes_ ,” Hongjoong agreed excitedly, following the were-cat over to the triple studio setup the three rappers had. “3RACHA? That’s a hella cool name. I like it!” He sighed. “I wish I could come up with a cool rapper name. All I’ve got is Hongjoong.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Jisung said, pulling up an extra chair and handing over a pair of headphones. “Here: this isn’t done by any means, but we’re pretty stoked with how it’s shaping up.”

Hongjoong nodded and closed his eyes as he listened to the rough cut of the track. He blinked his eyes open as the soft opening smashed into a driving electronica beat mixed with a low, rumbling style that was … honestly, intriguing. Hongjoong hummed and half-mumble rapped along idle lyrics to the beat, fingers tapping along on the desk. When the song ended, Hongjoong pulled the headphones off his head and set it down on the counter. “That was amazing,” he said earnestly. “Ah, I wish I could work on my own music right now but I have _assignments_.”

Sympathetically, Chan pat his shoulder. “Seonghwa said you were working on a music composition degree?”

“Un,” Hongjoong confirmed, fiddling with the headphones. “I’ve been producing and writing songs for bands on the indie circuit the last two years, so I’m hoping with the degree I’ll have some formal training behind me to really make a name for myself.”

Changbin nodded as he sat back in his seat, arms folded. “When you’re done, let us know. It’d be fun to bang out some songs.”

Hongjoong’s eyes brightened and he nodded. “Yeah, definitely! I’d love to work on a full song with you guys.”

“You thinking of being a producer or do you wanna perform?” Jisung asked, tilting his head.

“Both,” Hongjoong replied without hesitation. “I love writing and producing for others, but after last year, when I performed with Namjoon-hyung and Yoongi-hyung, I wanna do it myself.”

There was a loud clattering of hard plastic as Changbin and Jisung dropped their headphones heavily on the desk. “You performed with RM and AGUST D?!” Jisung exclaimed, loud enough to wake the dead.

Hongjoong blinked at him and leaned back in his seat. “I mean, technically yes but also no. They needed a third in order to be booked at _PERSONA_ so I agreed in exchange to use their studio for my final assignment last year. I went after them.”

“When… when was that performance?” Changbin asked quietly.

“Uh, Christmas Eve?” Hongjoong didn’t know where this was going. He was a little afraid of where this was going.

Jisung groaned and banged his head against the desk. “How do we keep missing their shows?!” he lamented with a bit of a sob.

Hongjoong blinked. “I can… let you know… when they perform next?” he offered awkwardly. “It’s actually not too hard to figure out once you realize they pick their dates based on a pattern… here, look.” He pulled out his phone and opened the calendar app where he had a specific symbol allocated for his hyung’s shows. “Here are the most recent ones - they’ve got day jobs and it’s picking up but they’ve been pretty consistent sticking to this pattern. See the difference in days from this show to this show?”

Changbin’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding. That’s the measure for their debut song.” He groaned and slapped a hand over his face. “I can’t believe we didn’t see it!”

“It loops back after this one,” Hongjoong explained, tapping the Christmas Eve date with his index finger’s knuckle. “I didn’t get it either until Namjoon-hyung accidentally let it slip one time during my first year of Uni so don’t beat yourself up.”

Jisung shook his head in disbelief. “Those clever bastards,” he said dazedly. “Jeez. — thanks, Hongjoong-ssi!”

Hongjoong laughed. “Call me hyung, and no worries. — I’ve gotta get going, but it was fun catching up with you guys. Let me know if you ever need any help; I’ll take any and all distractions away from the hell that’s my last semester.”

Chan chuckled and nodded. “Good luck, Hongjoong.”

“Thanks, I’ll need it!”

~ * ~

Yuna’s workshop was expansive and had several little stations here and there for various steps in the clothing design and construction process, and Hongjoong always liked the aesthetic she had; it was a mixture of clean, simple lines and gothic influences that weren’t immediately noticeable unless you looked. The older woman had indicated that he wouldn’t be alone at the estate (given the number of occupants at any given time, Hongjoong wasn’t surprised at that part), but he would be the only one in the workshop while she was away.

Hongjoong spread out Seonghwa’s destroyed jacket out on the workbench, carefully straightening it out with gentle pushes of his fingers. It was definitely unwearable in its current state, with scores of scorched denim, burned out holes and the stench of smoke that even a couple washes hadn’t helped. Pushing himself up out of his seat, Hongjoong moved over to where Yuna kept bins of scrap fabric, loose accessories and other pieces that could be used in clothing creation. Her sense of organization was second to none and although the system had been overwhelming to learn at first, Hongjoong came to appreciate it. He could see where Yeosang got it from and smiled a little bit, remembering how often and how proudly Yeosang would speak of his older sister. They all considered Yuna an older sibling, but they didn’t come close to how much Yeosang looked up to her.

As he rummaged through the bins, being mindful not to mixup the bins’ contents, Hongjoong slowly began to pull together the aesthetic he wanted for Seonghwa’s jacket. Yanking over his sketchbook and some pencil crayons Hongjoong worked quickly to get the image down on paper before it flew out of his head. Pleased with the loose outline, and having brought over the tools he’d need, Hongjoong set to work.

His plan involved a lot of fine accessory work, requiring him to hand-affix a lot of the patches of fabric and the metallic accessories and he’d pricked his fingers with the needle on more than one occasion… but it was worth it. Hongjoong could see the look on Seonghwa’s face when Hongjoong presented him with the jacket and he blushed at the image his mind’s eye created. There was a chance that Seonghwa would hate it, he was always making fun of Hongjoong’s style, but the younger man was confident he’d nailed Seonghwa’s aesthetic this time.

Hongjoong was in the midst of a tricky step in his design - securing a series of chains in a sloped, staggering pattern while ensuring that their charms stayed in the centre of the dip - when he felt a little pressure on his right foot. He continued to work, thinking nothing of it until he felt it again and spared a glance down underneath the desk … and saw a little Black Cat with two charms on its tail take an exceptional interest in the buckle on his right boot. There was the slightest bit of added weight to his shoulder - he’d become hyper aware to people leaning on him because of how touchy-feely his friend group was - and his brows slightly furrowed as he returned his attention to Seonghwa’s jacket.

_“In exchange, I may ask that you assist with five… lively boys that I’ve taken in while I am out of the estate on business, while you’re working on your item.”_

Recognition quickly dawned, but Hongjoong kept his expression neutral, giving off the impression that he was still unaware of the Black Cats’ presence. He could feel the shift of weight from the one on his shoulder and in a flash, Hongjoong was on his feet, scooping up the Black Cat on the floor by his boot and the one on his shoulder in one deft movement. “Gotcha!” The twin yowls of surprise from the Black Cats in his arms was a sweet reward. “There’s five of you, right? Where’s the other three?”

One of the Black Cats, the one by his boot that had a strange, half earring attached to his tail in addition to the normal soulmate earring, meowed defiantly at him.

“All right, keep your secrets.”

There was a sudden slam as Yeosang appeared at the doorway to the workshop, longish black hair obscuring his face from the sudden stop in movement. “Hyung! Are Beomgyu and Taehyun in here?” he asked urgently.

Hongjoong held up the two struggling Black Cats, holding them firmly enough that the had them caught, but not hard enough to hurt. “You mean these two?”

Yeosang sighed. “Thank God. These little shits tricked Seonghwa-hyung while I was talking to Hyu — it doesn’t matter. I just hope Wooyoung and San found Yeonjun and Soobin.”

“Isn’t there five of them?” Hongjoong asked, smirking as he felt Taehyun try to bite his finger but was largely unsuccessful because of the hold Hongjoong had on him. “What about the last one?”

“Kai’s in the wind,” Yeosang answered sourly. “Yunho-hyung and Mingi are trying to find him but Kai’s too smart for them. Jongho's on the other side of the estate in case they've gotten that far.”

(So everyone’s here.) Hongjoong nodded and unable to help himself, gave both Taehyun and Beomgyu a nuzzle, laughing when they hissed at him, practically sulking in his arms. “You guys had a pretty good plan,” he offered, laughing again when they glared at him, their little faces scrunched up in an unimpressed stare. “If I wasn’t so used to San, Wooyoung and Mingi causing shit, you two would’ve been able to get one on me.”

Beomgyu huffed and gave up, flopping over Hongjoong’s forearm, his little head hanging low in defeat. Taehyun snorted and continued to struggle until he too realized that it was futile and he sulked in his makeshift prison. Hongjoong laughed and nuzzled them, narrowly avoiding being swiped at by a sulking Taehyun and in retaliation, kissed his little nose.

“Sorry to interrupt your work,” Yeosang was saying after Hongjoong had his fill of tormenting the little Black Cats, “you were working on something for Seonghwa-hyung?”

“Yeah,” Hongjoong confirmed. “And no worries; Yuna-noona mentioned that she’d need some help with these guys when I asked for permission to use the workshop.”

Yeosang sighed as he led Hongjoong towards one of the rooms in the estate meant for entertaining guests. “She’s spreading herself too thin these days,” he said under his breath, a frown creasing his lips. “And her dumbass soulmate is oblivious; I get he’s busy but it’s obvious that she’s running on empty and just… what is he _doing?_ Doesn’t he know that Black Cats get their energy from their soulmate after they meet? Ugh, knowing Sis she didn’t tell him.”

“I mean, he’s _Kim Seokjin_ ,” Hongjoong pointed out. “They’ve probably had zero time together because of how busy their schedules are.”

“I _guess_ ,” Yeosang muttered as he pushed open the door. “Any luck, Seonghwa-hyung?”

Seonghwa shook his head as he got to his feet. “Wooyoung and San aren’t back yet and Yunho and Mingi are still looking for Kai; I haven't heard anything from Jongho.”

Yeosang groaned and rubbed his face. “Okay, I’m going to go and find them.”

“Stay here with these two; Hwa and I can find San and Woo, and see if we can’t help Yunho and Mingi,” Hongjoong offered. “You look like you’ve been running on empty yourself, Yeo.”

Seonghwa frowned. “Should we really be leaving him alone?”

“I’ll stay with Yeosang,” came a low voice from the doorway and Hongjoong blinked, looking down at the little Black Cats in his arms who stilled at the voice, recognizing it.

Yeosang sighed in relief. “Changkyun-hyung, I didn’t think you were around today; thank you.”

“I’ll be around for a bit, things are… well, I’ve got a lot of free time on my hands,” Changkyun replied, a faint hint of pain in his voice.

Yeosang frowned thinly. “Changkyun-hyung… is it about Min—”

Changkyun shook his head slightly and smirked at Beomgyu and Taehyun. “Change back, haven’t you two caused enough trouble?” He nodded to Hongjoong. “You can let them go.”

“If you’re sure,” Hongjoong agreed, setting both Beomgyu and Taehyun down gently, watching as they shifted to their human forms, clad in simple black clothing. “Jeez, what are they feeding you here? You’re both way too tall.”

Yeosang snorted as he raked a hand through his hair, trying to get it into some semblance of being in order. “You should see Soobin; he’s about as tall as Mingi and Yunho-hyung.”

Seonghwa shook his head and turned to Hongjoong. “Let’s find them as quickly as possible; this isn’t how I wanted to spend my free time before work on a Saturday.”

“Tell me about it,” Hongjoong agreed and with a parting wave to Yeosang and Changkyun - and a blown kiss to Taehyun and Beomgyu who sputtered indignantly - Hongjoong and Seonghwa left the common room and made their way through Yuna’s expansive estate. “…so how did they trick you?”

Seonghwa glared at him, but Hongjoong could see the embarrassment colour the Snow Leopard’s cheeks. “I don’t know,” he admitted, shoulders hunching up defensively as they made their way through the hallways, huffing out an irritated exhale when Hongjoong took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I was only left alone with them for a few minutes while Yeo went to take a call and they just… I thought they were sitting there with me but when I went to touch Yeonjun’s arm, my hand went right through it. They used some kind of trick of the eye spell or something and took off. I don’t know how long ago.”

Hongjoong blinked. “They used illusion magic? Jeez, no wonder Yuna-noona has her hands full with them.” He smiled gently and pressed a kiss to the back of Seonghwa’s hand. “That’s out of your hands, then; you wouldn’t have been able to counter them.”

“I should have been able to at least _sense something_ ,” Seonghwa muttered, looking around for any sign of the escaped Black Cats.

“If Yuna-noona is having trouble with them, I don’t know what hope the rest of us have,” Hongjoong pointed out, stopping briefly and giving his boyfriend a firm hug. “Stop beating yourself up; we’ll find them.”

Seonghwa smiled, knowing how much Hongjoong was still getting used to skinship, particularly in a romantic context, and leaned down a bit to press a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you. — ah, there’s San and Wooyoung.” He pointed down a curved hallway where the Black Cat and his soulmate were crouched down, peering around the corner.

Hongjoong put a finger to his lips and nodded to Seonghwa, the two of them crouching down as well and padding over to San and Wooyoung. San noticed them first and nodded, putting a finger back to his lips, but gestured for Wooyoung to fill them in. The Bengal were-cat nodded and leaned in to Seonghwa and Hongjoong. “We’ve almost got them,” he whispered. “Can you two go around down the hallway and hook a right—” Wooyoung watched them carefully and made a motion with his hand to the left, “we’ll cut them off. Soobin has blue eyes and Yeonjun has rose-pink eyes. That’s how you’ll tell them apart.” He pointed at Seonghwa and made a claw with his fingers.

The Snow Leopard’s icy blue eyes widened a faction in realization and nodded. They didn’t know where Soobin and Yeonjun were, but it sounded like they were usually together and were likely listening in on what San and Wooyoung had been saying to one another. Hopefully they weren’t able to have a visual on them too. “Understood.”

Quietly, Hongjoong got to his feet and left the hallway’s mouth with Seonghwa, ducking into a side-closet where the Snow Leopard shed his clothing and Hongjoong folded it neatly. He tried not to sneak a look at Seonghwa before the older man shifted - sue him, his boyfriend as hot as hell - but failed miserably. He caught Seonghwa’s knowing smirk before he shifted and shot an apologetic look to him when he’d finished shifting to his were-cat form.

“You’re always so beautiful, it’s unfair,” Hongjoong murmured, reaching down despite himself to give a gentle scratch behind Seonghwa’s ears, and to his neck - his favourite spot. Seonghwa gave a soft whine of embarrassment and lightly nipped at Hongjoong’s fingers, gesturing with his head to the door. “I know, I know; let’s go.”

While Hongjoong went right per Wooyoung’s spoken instructions, Seonghwa quietly and without a sound padded off to the left. He was fine being bait, especially as he was curious if he could catch Yeonjun and Soobin bare handed. Just as he passed a t-intersection, a flash of black shot past his feet and without thinking, Hongjoong dove forward and scooped it up. A surprised squeak and a pair of surprised grey eyes were staring up at him. He grinned.

“Hm, you’re not Soobin or Yeonjun, so I’m going to assume you’re Kai.” He smirked. “You’re pretty quick…” Hongjoong bit back a laugh as Kai let out an exaggerated kitty groan and flopped backwards in Hongjoong’s arms. “Bunch of drama queens, the lot of you.”

He had to move quickly. With Kai snuggled deep in his arms, Hongjoong moved into position in the right hallway. His eyes widened as he saw two little Black Cats at the end of the hallway, going left as Wooyoung predicted. Gently but firmly putting a hand over Kai’s little mouth to stop him from alerting the other two early, Hongjoong began to walk down the hallway, knowing that his footsteps would alert them in time.

It went off without a hitch: the second that they heard Hongjoong’s feet, Yeonjun and Soobin took off to the left, where they skidded to a halt as Seonghwa in his Snow Leopard form stood in their way. Hongjoong shifted Kai in his arm, holding the Black Cat under his armpit as he scooped up both Yeonjun and Soobin with surprising deftness. He held the trio close to his chest and laughed; he knew he looked insane with three black cats in his arms, but he felt like a God.

“Gotcha!” He turned to Seonghwa. “I’ll take them back. Meet us there when you’ve gotten changed; I left the door open.” After Seonghwa nodded gratefully, Hongjoong snuggled the small Black Cats in his arms and made his way back to where Yeosang and Changkyun were with (hopefully) Beomgyu and Taehyun. With a soft grunt, Hongjoong gently kicked the door open - surprised that it was left unlocked - and grinned as Changkyun and Yeosang turned to look at him with wide eyes. “Got ‘em.”

Yeosang stared in disbelief. “How the hell…?”

Hongjoong kicked the door closed behind him with his heel, and gently released Kai, Soobin, and Yeonjun who quickly shifted back to their human forms to commiserate with Beomgyu and Taehyun about their failed plan. “Kai shot past me right after Hwa and I talked with Woo and San, so I got him first. Woo made a show of saying we should go right and Hwa went left to cut them off while I went right. Then I turned right, made Soobin and Yeonjun go left and they got cut off by Hwa. Boom.”

“Wait, then that means you got _all_ of us?” Yeonjun exclaimed in disbelief. “Who the hell are you?”

“I’m just Hongjoong, a normal-ass human,” Hongjoong replied with a laugh.

Yeosang sighed and shook his head with a smile. “Hyung, thank you. I don’t know how you did it, but I’m thankful.”

Hongjoong waved a hand. “All good, Yeo. But I better get going and finish up work on that project. The one I was working on before two _somebodies_ interrupted me.”

Taehyun rolled his eyes as he folded his arms. “I don’t know how you sensed us when you were so out of it.”

“I almost had him,” Beomgyu insisted.

Soobin sighed. “You didn’t have shit if he caught you that easily.”

“He caught you too!” Kai pointed out.

Heaving heavily, Mingi and Yunho appeared at the door, with Wooyoung, San, Jongho and Seonghwa behind them. “Did… did you see… them?” Mingi breathed, putting his hands on his knees. “I thought I saw one of ‘em run this way…”

Hongjoong looked amused and jerked his thumb behind him. “Yeah, they’re all here, Min. Sorry, I just kind of picked off the win off everyone’s hard work.”

San laughed. “You physically caught them all, hyung?”

“Maybe you should switch careers to cat catcher,” Wooyoung suggested with a snicker. “Or maybe I should; it was my plan that caught Yeonjun and Soobin.”

Yeonjun eyed him, but a smirk was playing at his plush lips. “You and your boyfriend definitely more fun than the other two, that’s for sure.” He held out his hand. “Truce?”

Wooyoung blinked then grinned, shaking his hand. “Truce. Let’s annoy the others.”

“Music to my ears.”

“What fresh hell is this,” Seonghwa muttered, causing San to snort into his hand.

Hongjoong bit his lip and tried to bite back a laugh, instead reaching for Seonghwa’s hand and giving it a slight squeeze. “I’ll see you later, okay? I’ve gotta finish up this thing before I run out of time today. Want me to hang around until you’ve gotta go to _God’s Menu?_ ”

Seonghwa looked down at their hands and nodded. “Yeah, if you don’t mind.”

The Snow Leopard was still antsy about going into work alone as they were a few scant months removed from the scare Seonghwa had received of being followed. Eventually, Chan advised them that it _was_ someone from the suspected Were-Cat trafficking ring, but that Minho and Changbin had taken care of them. Even so, Seonghwa was anxious when it came to going into work alone and was having a difficult time asking for someone to accompany him to the Host Bar. Sometimes Hongjoong go with him to _God’s Menu_ , other times some of the hosts would come and walk with Seonghwa - most of the time it was Felix and Changbin, though sometimes it was Minho and Jisung, or any combination of the others.

They were a good group at _God’s Menu_ , and Seonghwa was grateful for the camaraderie, and that they accepted him so quickly and so easily. Part of it had been because they knew San, and trusted San, but they still took care of him like he was one of their own. He owed them a lot, but they’d hear none of it. Whenever Seonghwa tried to repay the kindness of Bang Chan and the hosts at _God’s Menu_ , Chan would laugh and tell him to just keep showing up on time.

Hongjoong nodded and smiled. “Just let me know when you’re ready to go.” Seonghwa nodded with a small, genuine smile, and Hongjoong felt his heart threaten to burst: he was _whipped_ for this man. Regrettably, Hongjoong released his boyfriend’s hand and headed back to the workshop, hands in his pockets. He paused halfway down the hallway and turned his head, noticing that Yeonjun was behind him. “Need something?”

“I want to watch you work,” Yeonjun replied, his rose-hued eyes bright with curiosity. “Taehyun and Beomgyu said you were making a jacket. I wanna see.”

The older of the two blinked, but quickly realized that if this was something that Yeonjun could put his focus to, then that might give him somewhere to direct all that energy. “Sure, but only if you promise not to tell Seonghwa about it. It’s a surprise for him.”

Yeonjun blinked back at him, but nodded seriously. “Okay.”

Once they were back inside the workshop - and advising Yeosang that Yeonjun was with him, don’t worry - Hongjoong pulled up a chair for Yeonjun and sat down in his own. “So I’m not really _making_ it as I’m patching it up and remixing it. Restructuring? Reconstructing? Something like that.” He waved a hand. “So Hwa works at _God’s Menu_ , which is a Host Bar. But like, practically everybody lives there. Anyway. There was a fire in the kitchen and one of the hosts grabbed the jacket by accident and put the fire out with it. It’s Hwa’s favourite jacket, and I want to fix it for him for Valentine’s Day.”

The Black Cat blinked at the denim jacket, slender fingers lightly running over the accessory work that had already been completed, curiously peering at the patches of fabric. He looked over at the sketch that was still sitting on the workbench and picked it up, nodding to himself. “It looks cool,” Yeonjun said, tilting his head slightly as his gaze raked over the sketch. “He was telling Yeosang-hyung about Valentine’s Day, too. Like, his work was doing something.”

As Hongjoong settled back in to resume his work on the jacket’s main feature, the drop pendants on the breast pocket, he paused and picked up the needle he’d been using. “His work was doing something?” he asked conversationally.

“Yeah, some kind of Gothic Valentine’s thing,” Yeonjun replied, carefully ripping the sketch out and setting it down beside Hongjoong. He pulled the container of pencil crayons over, beginning to idly sketch something himself. “The other hosts are bringing their dates at the end of the night.”

Hongjoong blinked slowly as realization dawned - Seonghwa’s very strange behaviour recently when he asked about work suddenly made sense - and went back to focusing on the drop pendants. “You probably weren’t supposed to tell me that part.”

Yeonjun stopped in what he was doing for a long moment, then shrugged. “I guess not. He seemed excited to bring you.”

A small smile creased Hongjoong’s lips and he nodded. “He’s a romantic,” Hongjoong replied, his voice tinged with fondness. “He’s probably excited to do something traditional; it’s been pretty crazy for him the last couple of months.”

“You’d be okay mating with a were-cat?”

The question came so out of left field that Hongjoong pricked himself with the needle. “Fuck! Ow. And yeah, I’m fine with it. — why?”

Yeonjun was watching him with bright eyes, as if studying his reaction. “Because most people aren’t.”

“Most people can get bent,” Hongjoong snorted as he stemmed the bleeding on his finger, absently running his other finger along the balm on his lips, using it as a stop gap to the pin prick. “If I cared what people thought I’d be in culinary school right now instead of working on a music composition degree.”

If Yeonjun was in his Black Cat form, Hongjoong was sure he’d be idly flicking his tail back and forth; he fought the urge to reach out and pet him. “You’re weird,” he said finally.

Hongjoong snorted. “Thanks. — hey, pass me that heat gun over there?”

“Huh? Oh. Sure.”

“Thanks.”

Purposefully, he began asking for Yeonjun’s help as he worked on Seonghwa’s jacket, explaining his process and how the tools he was using worked as he did so. Yeonjun was curious but respectful, taking everything in and being the quietest he’d ever been. Hongjoong switched message threads once he’d received a text from Seonghwa - advising that he was dressed in his work ‘uniform’ and ready to go - to the message thread he had with Yuna, texting the Black Cat while on his way out with his boyfriend.

 **Hongjoong [4:00 p.m.]  
** Hey, Yuna-noona  
Yeonjun’s interested in clothes construction  
Might be something to think about  
to keep him occupied

 **Yuna [4:05 p.m.]  
** Really? That’s good to know.  
Thank you, Hongjoong.  
I heard from Yeosang that you managed to corral all five of them earlier. 

**Hongjoong [4:06 p.m.]  
** All good  
Changkyun sure scared the hell out of them tho lol

 **Yuna [4:07 p.m.]  
** Outside of BamBam and myself, he’s the only one they listen to  
But you’re right, they do need a direction; that’s likely why they’re being so chaotic  
I’ll think of something

 **Hongjoong [4:07 p.m.]  
** Don’t stretch yourself too thin, noona  
Yeo’s worried about you  
If you need us to help, just let us know

 **Yuna [4:08 p.m.]  
** Thank you, Hoongjoong.  
Take care.

Hongjoong looked up as Seonghwa nudged him and gave his boyfriend a smile. “Just checking in with Yuna-noona,” he explained. “Yeonjun seems interested in what I was doing in the workshop so I was letting her know.”

Understanding crossed Seonghwa’s handsome features and he nodded, heading into the subway station with him. “I think Yeosang’s going to talk to Mr. Kim sooner rather than later; he’s getting fed up with both of them.”

“—wait, Yeo’s going to go and confront Kim Seokjin? I always knew he had balls, but how’s he even going to do that?” Hongjoong asked in disbelief.

Seonghwa smiled a little. “San works at _Moon_ sometimes, remember? He’s got an in.”

“Oh. That’s true. Jeez, isn’t there anywhere San doesn’t work?” Hongjoong asked, rubbing his neck.

“He’ll be at _God’s Menu_ for the next couple of months,” Seonghwa reminded him. “I think he’s looking forward to it… even Wooyoung seems fine with it.”

“Our kids are growing up,” Hongjoong laughed, shaking his head ruefully. Soon they were at _God’s Menu_ , and Hongjoong pressed a soft kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. “Call me when you’re done, yeah? I can come by and grab you.”

Seonghwa smiled and nodded, biting back the decline of the offer as although San was working at the Host Bar again, he wanted Hongjoong to pick him up. He liked the idea of his boyfriend swinging by to pick him up from work; there was something delightfully domestic about it. “I will.”

“Be sure to let me come into the Bar to get you, I hear your customers love me,” Hongjoong said cheekily, laughing at the look on Seonghwa’s face. “You forget that I have Felix’s number.”

“Ah, _Felix_ ,” Seonghwa looked upset for a split second before dissolving into a fit of laughter. “Of course you two would be conspiring together.” He stole another kiss, this one deeper and Hongjoong was all too happy to return it; his mind still reeled at the idea that he could do this whenever he wanted now. “Love you.”

Hongjoong smiled back, knowing full well he looked like a total sap. “Love you too. Hook a whale, Hwa. I wanna be the trophy husband’s side-piece.”

Seonghwa laughed and nodded, kissing Hongjoong one more time before going towards the door. He could hear the stampeding sounds of feet running away, and he knew immediately that the other hosts of _God’s Menu_ had been spying on him through the windows. With a fond smile, Seonghwa bid farewell to Hongjoong and stepped inside _God’s Menu_ , yelling at his coworkers that they owed him compensation.

The younger man threw his head back and laughed, shaking his head ruefully before he headed back to their apartment, Seonghwa’s jacket sitting in a protected garment bag slung over his shoulder and hiding in plain sight.

~ * ~

Seonghwa couldn’t help the smile from creasing his glossy lips as Hyunjin ‘fixed’ his make-up, deciding that he would make it more ‘dramatic’ for Hongjoong. “Are you doing this for the others?” he asked idly, his eyes fluttering shut when Hyunjin instructed him to.

“The non-hosts were already done up at the beginning of the night, but you’re one of us, so you get special treatment,” Hyunjin pointed out, his voice a bit of a sing-song. “Channie-hyung says he’s here and already schmoozing with your last customer.”

At that, Seonghwa’s eyes opened and he looked a bit guilty when Hyunjin clicked his tongue at him. “He’s _what?_ ”

Hyunjin laughed. “I’m telling you, we need to get him on the roster and you two could _clean up_.” He clapped and slid his hands against one another, mimicking making bills fly. “I’m serious! Think about it. Even for a little stint, you two could make some good money together.”

“Do you really think so?” Seonghwa asked, closing his eyes again and letting Hyunjin finish up perfecting his eyeshadow. “I don’t know if he’d go for it.”

The Top Host at _God’s Menu_ huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yah, Sannie. Do you think that Seonghwa-hyung and his boyfriend could make bank as a duo?” he asked, his voice trailing as he presumably tilted his head to talk to the Black Cat.

Seonghwa could hear San laugh as Hyunjin started blending out his eyeshadow. “Hell yeah they could make a ton of money if they played into the organic interest in their relationship. But, it’s also super fucking weird to suggest they play up their relationship for money, so I wouldn’t be surprised if neither of them went for it.”

“I _suppose_ ,” Hyunjin agreed, prompting Seonghwa to laugh from the way he said it. “All right, you’re perfect! Ready to knock ‘em dead?”

The Snow Leopard opened his eyes and looked into the hand mirror that the Cheetah were-cat was holding it up. Hyunjin had expertly chosen the right shade to amplify Seonghwa’s natural icy blue eyes, pairing it skillfully to his pale blond hair. “You’re amazing, Hyunjin,” Seonghwa said, surprised at what he saw. “Thank you.”

Minho opened the door to the backroom and poked his head in. “San, Wooyoung’s here. Seonghwa, Hongjoong’s here and taking your job. Hyunjin, your date’s here.”

Hyunjin blinked slowly as he closed the makeup palette, setting it down on the counter. “I don’t have a date.”

“Yes, you do. Get off your ass and get out there,” Minho said, closing the door behind him once his job had been done to questionable sufficiency.

Confused, Hyunjin pushed himself to his feet and pulled his jacket back on, fastening it and the jewelled pocket chain to his tie. He looked over to San and Seonghwa who both shrugged confusedly in return and while still processing Minho’s cryptic yet distressingly blunt statement, pinned some of his hair back over his right ear with the star pins Jeongin got him for their first Christmas as a family. “I … guess I have a date.”

“Yo, get it, Hyunjin,” San said, giving him a quick one-armed hug - and giving Seonghwa one too - before heading out to greet his soulmate.

Seonghwa smiled comfortingly as he got to his feet and helped straighten out Hyunjin’s suit. “It must be someone that Chan-hyung’s vetted, so I wouldn’t be too worried,” he pointed out, threading his fingers through Hyunjin’s soft blond hair, helping fix it. “Maybe it’s someone you know.”

Hyunjin looked up at him with wide, golden orange eyes and seemed to fall into deep thought at the point that was made. “I don’t know who it could be,” he admitted. “I mean, there’s one person, but… I don’t think it’s them.”

“Only one way to find out,” Seonghwa said with a smile. “I’ll walk out with you.”

Relieved, Hyunjin nodded and held onto Seonghwa’s arm as they walked out, cutting quite the visual together. Seonghwa decided to take Hyunjin to his station first, and almost did a double-take when he saw Yeosang sitting there, dressed to the nines in a bespoke silvery-grey suit. His chin-length, raven black hair was slicked back, showing off his pierced ears and a sparkling ear-cuff that seemed to be a black wing made out of black diamonds and sapphire.

“Yeosang?” Seonghwa asked, dumbfounded. “ _You’re_ Hyunjin’s date?”

The younger man raised his head in greeting, but looked positively _done_ with the situation. “When I went to talk to Kim Seokjin, I didn’t think it would land me with a Valentine’s Day date; Yuna sure likes her weird ‘thank you’s.”

“…we don’t have time to unpack all of that, but I’ll leave you two to your date,” Seonghwa said, carefully extricating himself from Hyunjin and giving both the Host and his friend a charming smile. “Enjoy your time at _God’s Menu_.” He gave Hyunjin’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before heading towards his own station, where Hongjoong was flirting pretty shamelessly with Seonghwa’s last client, a woman named Mina.

Hongjoong noticed him first and grinned, coming over and placing a soft kiss to Seonghwa’s cheek. “Mina was telling me that you left her all alone,” he playfully chastised. “I thought hosts were supposed to take care of their customers.”

Mina put a hand to her mouth, delighted with the display of affection. “I was just keeping Hongjoong-ssi company until you came,” she explained. “He said he felt lonely.”

“Oh _did_ he,” Seonghwa asked, looking at his boyfriend with an incredulous look but it was clear a smile was threatening to tug at his lips. “Thank you for keeping him occupied while I was busy, Miss. I hope today was able to take your mind off things.”

Mina smiled and nodded as she rose to her feet, bowing slightly. “Thank you, Seonghwa-ssi. Have a lovely evening with Hongjoong-ssi!” She winked and waved, heading off towards the front of the Bar.

Hongjoong waved after her with a smile until Seonghwa pinched him in the side. “Ow, what?”

“Shameless,” Seonghwa commented, smirking. “‘I don’t know if I could be a host, hwa, I don’t think I could flirt with someone I don’t know like that’. You’re so full of shit, Kim Hongjoong.”

His boyfriend had no shame, it seemed, and put a hand to his chest, feigning hurt. “I am not. And you know what? Now I’m not even going to give you your Valentine’s Day present because you’re being so mean to me.”

Seonghwa blinked. “Present?”

“Ah, got your attention now, don’t I?” Hongjoong took Seonghwa’s hand and pulled him into his seat, stealing a quick kiss before sitting down across from him at their table. Quickly, Hongjoong pulled up a glittery Valentine’s Day patterned bag, drowning in sparkling hearts. It was the ugliest thing Hongjoong had ever seen, but he knew that Seonghwa would love it. And as he saw his boyfriend’s eyes light up, Hongjoong knew he’d made the right call. “Here, open it.”

Perhaps it was silly of him, but Seonghwa loved the mushy romantic nature of Valentine’s Day. The hopeless romantic in him always wanted a stereotypical Valentine’s Day date, with the flowers and chocolates and sex. He knew Hongjoong wasn’t like that, having issues being honest with his feelings, flinching at physical contact at the best of times, but he was trying, and Seonghwa truly loved him.

Carefully, Seonghwa opened the bag and found a garment bag wrapped in tissue paper. It was hefty, and confusion coloured the Host’s handsome features. At Hongjoong’s insistence, Seonghwa pulled out the garment bag and opened it, his eyes widening upon seeing his favourite denim jacket completely transformed into something unique and one of a kind. Hongjoong’s aesthetic was all over it, but it was undoubtedly _Seonghwa_ ; a perfect mixture of them both.

It was then that Seonghwa realized that Hongjoong’s love language wasn’t in skinship or giving chocolates, or flowers, or even in saying ‘I love you’ all the time, but it was in his actions. Always offering Seonghwa his company to come to _God’s Menu_ , opening up his apartment to Seonghwa, where he’d famously never let anybody see it, let alone stay there… and reconstructing his boyfriend’s favourite jacket because his boyfriend was upset for a week after it got destroyed.

Seonghwa was a lucky man to have Hongjoong and he knew it.

“Do you like it?” Hongjoong asked, biting his lip.

Startled, Seonghwa looked up from where he’d been staring at the garment. “Like it? Joong, I love it. This is… this is incredible.”

Hongjoong let out a loud sigh of relief and sunk in his seat. “I was worried you’d think it’d look too much like something _I’d_ wear and not like the jacket you loved so much. — this is what I was working on at Yuna-noona’s estate, by the way.”

“You were — right in front of me?” Seonghwa asked, dismayed. “How did I not…?” He groaned. “This explains so much as to why Felix kept asking me about why I liked it so much.”

“Felix is a real one,” Hongjoong said with a laugh. “He saved the jacket right before it was gonna be tossed and I picked it up at the Bar.”

“Hongjoong,” Seonghwa breathed, pulling his boyfriend in for a deep kiss. “You’re making it really hard to want to stay here and host you.”

His boyfriend winked at him. “Hang on for a little bit longer; I wanna enjoy the food here. You might get to eat this everyday, but the last time I had food this good was Woo’s birthday.”

Seonghwa chuckled. “Maybe we should consider Hyunjin’s suggestion that we pair up for a couple of months and wring what we can out of everyone’s interest in our relationship.”

“You think people are actually interested?” Hongjoong asked, looking over as one of the waitstaff brought over the first part of their couple’s meal. Seonghwa could see that a part of his brain was trying to pick apart the technical aspect of the appetizers in front of them, and he had to consciously shut it off. As much as Hongjoong didn’t want to professionally cook, he still loved it and that part of his brain wanted to learn as much as he could about it.

“They’re definitely interested,” Seonghwa confirmed. “But, I know how private you are and it is a bit … no, it’s really weird to … like, monetize it?”

Hongjoong hummed thoughtfully as he gently placed a chocolate-covered strawberry to Seonghwa’s lips, smiling as the Snow Leopard parted his glossy lips to bite it. “It’s… selling a fantasy, right? It’s not _really_ us,” Hongjoong said, his eyes dark as he watched Seonghwa eat the strawberry. “Wouldn’t be opposed if your boss is cool with it. I’ll need to get working more consistently once we graduate…” He sucked on his teeth.

Seonghwa nearly choked on the strawberry, having to reach up and capture the rest of it before it fell out of Hongjoong’s fingers. “Really?” he asked, surprised.

“We’re kind of playing a part, right? I think I can do that,” Hongjoong confirmed, looking thoughtful. “Like we’re BL actors or something. It’s a little weird, but whatever. Gotta make that money, you know?”

“You really are full of surprises, Kim Hongjoong.”

Hongjoong smirked. “You’ll be full of something else later.”

“Wh…!?” Seonghwa’s face turned bright red and he smacked Hongjoong’s shoulder a bit harder than he should have.

~ * ~

Seonghwa felt silly with a scrap of fabric over his eyes as Hongjoong led him towards their apartment, but also a rising excitement. He gripped Hongjoong’s hand tightly with one hand, the other holding onto the garment bag that held his favourite jacket, now risen from the dead. “Almost there,” Hongjoong promised, fighting with the lock as he opened the door, gently tugging Seonghwa in behind him. He locked up the door, the sound of the locks sounding heavier with Seonghwa’s vision blocked.

“What are you planning, Joong?” Seonghwa asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

“You’ll see in a second,” Hongjoong replied with a bit of a laugh, leading Seonghwa through their small apartment and to the bedroom. Gently, Hongjoong took the gift bag and set it aside, making sure it was safely out of the way and Seonghwa could hear the scuffling sound of his boyfriend doing God knows what. Was that the sound of a light switch? Several? “Okay! Happy Valentine’s Day, Seonghwa.”

Blinking slowly to regain the clarity in his vision, Seonghwa was confused for a minute before it all fell into place and his heart leapt. Their small bedroom was immaculate, with several small electric tea light candles whose bulb looked like a little flame strewn about. The bed had new sheets and a comforter, but were masked by rose petals of different colours that were elegantly scattered across the entire expanse of the bed in the shape of a heart. Beside the bed was a large clear bag for the petals, and honestly, that might have been the hottest thing out of all of it - that Hongjoong thought about the cleanup.

“Don’t worry about the petals, they’re easy to clean up, I —” Hongjoong didn’t get the rest of the words out of his mouth as the Snow Leopard immediately crowded his space and pulled him into a bruising, hot kiss. “Wow, okay…”

Seonghwa smiled against his boyfriend’s lips, beginning to make quick work out of the suit that clung to Hongjoong’s body like a second skin. His hands were greedy, covering every inch of bared skin that he uncovered, paying particular attention to the tattoo that went from Hongjoong’s hip to his pectoral. He loved this tattoo, loved Hongjoong, and couldn’t help himself from capturing his love’s lips into another deep kiss. “I love you,” he whispered.

Embarrassed, Hongjoong returned the kiss, letting Seonghwa quickly move the petals into the disposal bag before he stripped them both bare. “I love you too,” he said back, gently biting at the Snow Leopard’s bottom lip and tasting the gloss.“On the bed, Hwa. Let me take care of you tonight. Mm? I know how much you’ve been looking forward to this.”

“Hongjoong…”

Hongjoong gave him a roguish smile and a wink, pressing biting kisses to his boyfriend’s neck, teasing at the spot that was the most sensitive to were-cats, pleased that it made Seonghwa pliable enough to move to the bed. They traded soft, brief kisses, the intensity building slowly as if being carefully minded like a flickering fire. Hongjoong’s hands were a little rough, but he could see how Seonghwa writhed and shifted on the bed as his palms slid down the Snow Leopard’s strong, slender frame.

“You’re gorgeous, Seonghwa,” Hongjoong whispered, taking his time and ensuring that Seonghwa was present with him the entire time. His hands knew just where to stroke, where to pinch, where to rub in comforting circles and it made the were-cat’s head spin. A brief flash of guilt washed over him, embarrassed that he ever thought that Hongjoong didn’t do romance. “I know I’m not the best boyfriend, but I wanna show you just how special you are to me tonight.”

Seonghwa shook his head, a gasp tumbling past his sticky lips as he felt Hongjoong’s tongue flick teasingly at his tip. “N-No such thing as ‘best’,” he breathed. “You’re… the boyfriend I want.”

There was an almost imperceptible pause and Seonghwa wouldn’t have noticed it if he wasn’t hyper aware to where Hongjoong’s mouth was. He felt a little huff of air against his flushed skin, and it made him bit his lip and keen in desperate impatience. “Already so worked up,” Hongjoong whispered, dark eyes almost glittering in the candlelight of their bedroom. “Want me to make you fall apart with my tongue, Hwa? I know how much you like that.”

God, Kim Hongjoong was a _demon_.

“Fuck me,” Seonghwa gasped, eyes fluttering shut as Hongjoong took him into his mouth the same time he flicked the bottle of lube open - when did he even pick that up? “I don’t want to wait.” He choked on his moan when Hongjoong sunk all the way down on his cock, the tip pressing the back of the younger man’s throat.

“Impatient,” Hongjoong commented when he popped off his boyfriend’s dick with a wet pop. His voice was a little rough and raspy just from taking Seonghwa briefly, and he smirked when Seonghwa’s cock twitched at the realization. “Oh, you like hearing me like this? Baby, you’re full of surprises.”

Seonghwa groaned; Hongjoong was insufferable when he found a new thing to tease Seonghwa about. “I thought you said I’d be full of something else soon.”

His boyfriend’s slicked up finger stopped right at his rim, and Seonghwa groaned again in disappointment. The smirk on Hongjoong’s lips widened and he clapped Seonghwa’s right hip with his hand. “Mouthy,” he muttered, warming up the lube between his fingers. “Maybe I should make you wait.”

“I’ll kill you.”

“Ooh, talk dirty to me.”

Seonghwa was about to make a snappy comeback when Hongjoong finally started to give him what he wanted and a soft, needy whine escaped him. His boyfriend was a quick study, learning exactly what he needed to do to have Seonghwa come undone in seconds but he also liked to extend his teasing, make Seonghwa mindless with pleasure and incoherent with love. Tonight, Hongjoong was doing a mixture of both paces, stretching Seonghwa with care and patience, but with the intent that he was going to _ruin_ his boyfriend soon.

“Look at you,” Hongjoong murmured, his expression and voice completely transparent in how much he loved the gasping man beneath him. “I can’t believe you’re mine, Hwa… I’m the luckiest bastard alive.”

“Want you,” Seonghwa whispered in response, reaching up to pull Hongjoong down for a kiss, desperate to feel him. “ _Need_ you.”

Hongjoong inhaled sharply against Seonghwa’s lips, somehow still working Seonghwa open despite the obvious conflict in his voice. “Want me that bad? All right, let go. — Just for a second.” Quickly, the younger man pulled a pillow over and set it under Seonghwa’s slender hips. As he cleaned off his hands and got a condom rolled on, Hongjoong licked his lips in anticipation as he then gripped his boyfriend’s waist. “Like this?”

Seonghwa nodded. It was embarrassing for one of his favourite positions to be so basic, but he loved seeing Hongjoong’s face when they were like this. “Yeah.”

“Gorgeous,” Hongjoong said in awe, leaning down to capture his lips in another kiss. He trailed his kisses down to Seonghwa’s long neck, carefully pushing in with as much care as he could muster. “Talk to me, Hwa… good?”

“So good,” Seonghwa moaned, his eyes fluttering shut as he was slowly filled up by the man he loved so much. “Love it…”

Seonghwa was so honest and earnest in bed it made Hongjoong’s heart burst and he was almost loathe to begin to move, wanting to stay locked like this forever. But his boyfriend could be a wildcat - pun intended - in bed when he got good and ready, and it seemed this night was one of those times.

Well.

Hongjoong was nothing if not a boyfriend that tried his best and if Seonghwa wanted it hot and hard, he’d give it to him. Their next kiss was deep and filthy, a mixture of spit, tongue, and short moans as the younger man began a hard, rhythmic pace. Seonghwa was a vision in the warm light of the fake candles, and it was taking a hundred percent of Hongjoong’s concentration not to come right then at there at the visual.

He choked out a moan when Seonghwa’s long legs wrapped tightly around his waist, pulling him in and full to the hilt. “Demon,” Hongjoong hissed.

Seonghwa licked his kiss-bitten lips. “Now you know how I feel half the time,” he gloated. The smug look of superiority quickly shattered when Hongjoong resumed his brutal pace, pinning the older man’s wrists above his head. Fuck, that was dirty play but he _loved_ it; Hongjoong always kept him on his toes. “C-Close!”

“Already?” Hongjoong asked, his voice thick with desire. It didn’t seem like he was teasing Seonghwa, more that he was right there with him. “M-Me too. You feel incredible, Hwa. I want … I, I love you…”

“Love… Love you too,” Seonghwa repeated, eyes rolling back into his head as Hongjoong’s pace picked up and he began to kiss and lavish attention on the Snow Leopard’s neck. Fuck, how much did he want Hongjoong to just take the plunge, to mate him? They weren’t ready, he knew that and Hongjoong knew it, but he wanted it so bad. Just the idea of being forever connected to Hongjoong was enough to send Seonghwa over the edge, barely even needing to be touched by Hongjoong’s hand.

The image of Seonghwa coming practically untouched was Hongjoong’s weakness, and it was only a few seconds longer he lasted before he followed suit, tumbling over the abyss in overwhelming pleasure. “F-Fuck,” Hongjoong gasped out against Seonghwa’s neck. “You’re… you’re incredible, Hwa…”

“So are you,” Seonghwa managed, reaching up with trembling hands to cup his boyfriend’s face in his hands. “This was… thank you. I loved it. All of it. I love _you_.”

A blush coloured Hongjoong’s tanned cheeks and he leaned into Seonghwa’s loving touch. “I love you too. So … _so fucking much_.”

Seonghwa smiled, delirious with happiness as he nuzzled his boyfriend, happy beyond belief when Hongjoong let him. “Let’s get cleaned up,” he said after a while, “I’m not falling asleep with makeup on.”

Hongjoong groaned. “You know how much I love this part…”

“Up.”

Hongjoong sighed heavily but acquiesced as he was nothing if not completely whipped for his boyfriend. Even as he was dragged to the shower to clean off their makeup and get ready for bed, Hongjoong wondered if he could come around to Valentine’s Day if his Valentine was Park Seonghwa. He watched as Seonghwa towelled his hair dry, dressed in his favourite pair of fluffy pajamas while excitedly telling him about his plans for their day off tomorrow in their shitty little apartment, and he felt his heart burst.

Hongjoong didn’t need much to survive in life, but he knew he needed Seonghwa. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just furthering my top HJ agenda don't mind me
> 
> what is it about SeongJoong that makes their stories run away from me? WHAT IS IT
> 
> how are y'all even keeping up with Kingdom? I'm so old I don't know how anything works lmao


	5. ChanLix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being at the epicentre of the logistical nightmare of a massive Valentine's Day event and being the anchor of their friend groups, Chan and Felix are beginning to feel the strain of a highly successful venture. In between helping Seokjin and Raven, Chan prepares a surprise for Felix to make some good memories of a place that had rejected them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS. CHAPTER. KICKED. MY. ASS. I don't know why it's ChanLix that does this to me, but this took me forever to pull together. I hope you enjoy! It's a chonky 16k! Somehow Chan and Felix, per tradition, carry a story heavy chapter. Bless them. 
> 
> Bang Chan and Felix’s story takes place entirely in Part 5, but they’re mentioned in passing by Hoseok in Part 2.

Hyunjin bit his lip as he shared a look with Jeongin, the two of them coming up from the basement suite of _God’s Menu_ , wanting a midnight snack. Well, it was more of a ‘3 a.m. snack’ but really, when it was that late, what did it matter? There was a high chance that Chan would be awake, but it was also likely that he had gone to bed on time; Felix had finally succeeded in guilting the eldest into a proper sleep schedule in the last couple of months. They nodded to each other and quietly made their way across the main floor to the kitchen…

… where they heard a loud cry of anguish. 

Straightening up, Hyunjin hurried into the kitchen with Jeongin close behind. There, in the war zone that had become the kitchen, was Chan with his head hung low over a tray of what appeared to be a sheet cake. Curious, Hyunjin knocked on the door to alert Chan to their presence. “…Hyung, are you okay?” 

“Wh - oh, Hyunjin, Jeongin. Sorry, did I … did I wake you two up?” Chan looked uncharacteristically flustered and frustrated, raking a hand through his hair - and only belatedly realizing that his hand still had powder on it. “Argh!” 

Jeongin blinked and shared another look with Hyunjin. “What happened, hyung?” 

Chan frowned and stepped to the side so the two younger men could see the disaster. “I’m trying to make a Lamington cake for Felix for Valentine ’s Day but I’m right shit at baking,” he said, frustration seeping into his usually calm voice. “How does Felix do it?” 

Curiously, Hyunjin picked up Chan’s phone and scrolled through the recipe. “It takes practice,” he said as he studied the instructions. “You could make a thousand times and it’ll be a little different each time, even if you’re exact. And you’ve gotta be exact with baking too, so…” He waved a hand in a circular motion. 

“Take a deep breath,” Jeongin suggested. 

“Let’s try it one more time,” Hyunjin added.

Chan blinked at them both. “Are you sure? I mean, it’s 3 a.m.” 

Hyunjin snorted. “We were up and hungry; it’s not like you woke us up to help you. C’mon. Let’s clean this up.” 

“You guys should be sleeping,” Chan protested. 

“Do any of us sleep at a normal hour anymore?” Jeongin asked flatly, fiddling with his half-soulmate earring on his right ear. “Let’s give it one more try and eat the failures in the morning.” 

Hyunjin rolled his eyes as they began to clean up the disaster zone that was the kitchen, with Jeongin transferring the first experimental Lamington to a large plate and covered it with a lidwhile Hyunjin and Chan started cleaning out the bowls to start again. “Who says it’s going to be a failure a second time?” he asked.

Jeongin rolled his eyes. “Pattern recognition.” 

“We’re trying to build Chan-hyung’s confidence up here,” Hyunjin hissed, elbowing the youngest in the side. “Read the room!” 

The eldest of their little band of misfits raised an eyebrow and gave the pair a fond smile. “It’s fine,” he promised. “I don’t know why I thought I could do this, though. Felix is such a good baker; he’s going to know they’re substandard.” 

Hyunjin frowned; Chan had a bad habit of holding himself up to impossibly high standards, putting everything on his shoulders and bottling everything up on the inside so no one would worry about him. Everyone had always been placed first, and it wasn’t until his Hoseok-hyung got through to him that he started taking care of his own mental and physical health. “Yongbokie is going to love whatever you make for him because you put this much thought and effort into it,” the Top Host pointed out. 

“And if they don’t turn out great, you have a built-in excuse to hang out with him more while he teaches you,” Jeongin added, drying out the measuring cups. “It’ll be disgustingly cute and we’ll have diabetes and I’ll _barf_.” 

Chan blinked and shared a long look with Hyunjin. “Is…everything okay, Jeongin?” 

The Ghost Tabby didn’t respond right away, seemingly too invested in measuring out the dry ingredients into little bowls so they could grab them quickly. “I saw the other half of my earring,” he said eventually, his voice almost inaudible. 

There was a loud clatter as Hyunjin dropped the pan he was holding and he scrambled to save it before it caused an avalanche of pain. “You _what?_ ” the Cheetah were-cat asked incredulously. “I thought you said you didn’t have a soulmate!” 

“I thought so,” Jeongin admitted, his greenish blue eyes darkening as he started to shred the coconut. “But I saw it when I was at Miss. Raven’s estate recently… when Hyunjin-hyung was there to help her get accustomed to hosting.” 

Chan carefully placed the measuring cup he was holding down on the counter and frowned thinly; as much as Jeongin was trying to keep himself composed and cut off from whatever it was he was feeling, it wasn’t working. “Did they reject you?” 

Jeongin frowned then, his fingers tightening around the coconut and the grater. “He didn’t even see me,” he said quietly. “I was standing right there in the hallway and I was trying to get his attention but he was with four other guys his age and just… didn’t even notice me.” 

Confusion coloured the older Black Cat’s handsome features before something clicked and Chan scooped up his phone, thumbing away from the browser app and to his photo gallery. He pulled up the photo that BamBam sent him and Hoseok of the five young Black Cats that Raven had recently taken in and zoomed in on their Black Cat Marks, on the backs of their left hand. “I don’t think it was on purpose,” Chan started carefully. 

“What do you _mean_ , hyung? I was in front of his face and he didn’t even see me!” Jeongin protested; it seemed being ignored hurt his feelings more than he was letting on. “I tried and yelled as loud as I could and he didn’t even see me! What … what do I do with that?”

Gently, Chan put an arm around Jeongin’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze, showing him the Black Cat group chat between himself, BamBam, Hoseok, Jungkook, San, Raven, Changkyun Taemin and Jiyong. “Look at this part right here.”

 **BamBam  
** Here’s the clip, Miss. Raven  
[video - 1:40]

 **Chan  
** …what was that?

 **Raven  
** That’s what we’re trying to figure out  
It’s utterly bizarre 

**Hoseok  
** They didn’t even see Jeonginie! 

**Jiyong  
** They didn’t run into him either

 **Taemin  
** It looked like they were repelled away from him?

 **Chan  
** But they didn’t even react

 **Jungkook  
** This isn’t really relevant to this discussion but  
Noona, let me know what camera you use that picks up magical energy like that

 **Chan  
** Do you think it’s because Jeongin has Illusion magic?

 **San  
** What, like an Uno reverse card?

 **Changkyun  
** They were using an illusion spell to hide themselves, right?  
Noona, you know how we can see through an illusion spell because of our affinity?  
What if … Jeongin was able to, subconsciously, counter the spell’s effect?  
On himself  
Specifically 

**Chan  
** Oh!  
so Jeongin could see them  
but they couldn’t see him?

 **Raven  
** That’s possible…  
Beomgyu was the one at the center of this spell  
With those five, one needs to be the center/focal point  
And the others will supplement/bolster the spell’s power with their own  
With Beomgyu and Jeongin… yes, it’s possible that Jeongin countered him without realizing it

 **Changkyun  
** It’s the only thing that makes sense  
Either that  
Or they’re blind, deaf and dumb

 **BamBam  
** Definitely not, my dude  
They loud as shit and they know it  
Too smart for their own good, too 

Hyunjin blinked slowly as he read the chat, tilting his head, confusion colouring his handsome features. “You mean it was like when you put two magnets together and they repel each other?” 

“More like he had a blanket over his head to shield himself from others but Jeongin also had a blanket over his head so Beomgyu couldn’t see _him_ ,” Chan clarified. “But Jeongin wasn’t consciously doing it, so he didn’t know he couldn’t be seen and Beomgyu didn’t know he _was_ being seen.” 

The Cheetah made a face. “How confusing. I’m so glad I don’t need to deal with that shit.” 

Jeongin was silent, looking at a clip of the security footage that BamBam had sent as a video in the chat, watching as the scene replayed itself repeatedly. As he looked at it from a third person view, not one of the five young men noticed him, not just Beomgyu; that seemed to jive with Chan’s explanation of their magicks cancelling each other’s out. “…what do I do?” he asked finally, his voice quiet. “Do I … tell him? He’s got… four soulmates already. And… then there’s me. A half. But I should, right? It’ll go well, right…?” 

“There’s no guarantee that it’ll be smooth sailing one way or the other,” Chan started carefully, squeezing Jeongin’s shoulder. “That being said, nothing good comes out of waiting. You saw what happened with Felix and me; I waited too long and fucked it up. It’s scary one way or the other, but it needs to be done.” 

“Yeah,” Jeongin agreed quietly, but he didn’t sound convinced. “Okay. I’m going to find him the next time I’m in.” He nodded firmly. “I won’t leave until we talk.” 

“Why don’t you come with me tomorrow?” Hyunjin asked, tilting his head. “I have to go there anyway to prep for Valentine’s Day and I’m sure Yeosang would love the help.” 

Chan blinked. “Yeosang?” He vaguely remembered hearing the name before; maybe it was another Black Cat at Raven’s estate. An amused smile came to his lips. “Do you have a secret boyfriend we don’t know about, Hyunjin?” 

While the Black Cat expected the younger were-cat to hiss and get defensive, instead, Hyunjin’s cheeks reddened and his ears turned bright pink. “No, shut up!” Hyunjin muttered, quickly picking up the baking tray and spraying it with cooking spray. “He’s… helping with those Black Cats, the ones causing all the trouble lately. While Miss. Raven was busy were talking and – _we’re just talking, okay?_ ” the defensive English came out in a rush. 

Biting his lip so he wouldn’t coo at the younger man, Chan nodded. It was difficult, however, to keep himself from not reacting at all, and instead pulled Hyunjin into a comforting hug. With everything that Hyunjin had gone through not only at _Star Shine_ but previously as a Stray, Chan was extremely happy to hear that he was making friends outside of their little bubble. “Right, of course. Just talking,” he agreed. “Do you have a picture?” 

“Why would I have a picture?” Hyunjin demanded, turning bright red. 

Jeongin rolled his eyes. “Because you take pictures with _everyone_ ,” he muttered, yelping as Hyunjin wiped his hand still stained with flour on Jeongin’s favourite sleep shirt. “Yah! What was that for?” 

“Brat,” Hyunjin mumbled petulantly, scrolling through his phone with his clean hand. He stuck out his tongue to Jeongin and turned so that he was only showing Chan the picture he’d taken at Raven’s estate with Yeosang and a young man with stylishly cut black hair and red eyes. “This is Yeosang,” he explained, pink tinting his cheeks as he pointed to the shorter man. “The other one is Changkyun, he’s a Black Cat and like the only one those guys listen to.” 

Chan blinked. “Oh, Yeosang’s not a Black Cat?” 

“No, he’s a human,” Hyunjin replied, closing the phone and slipping it into his pocket. “Sounds like he knows Seonghwa-hyung and San’s soulmate Wooyoung really well. He knows Hongjoong too; he was telling me about how Hongjoong caught all five of those Black Cats with just his hands.” 

“Huh, that must be where I heard his name before,” Chan said, nodding absently. “—are you okay, Jeongin?” 

The Ghost Tabby nodded and gave a small smile. “I’m not looking forward to this, but it’s like ripping off a band-aid, right? Hopefully his other soulmates don’t hate me.” 

Hyunjin huffed. “If they do, they’re idiots. Who could ever hate our Jeonginie?” He threw his arms around their youngest host, nuzzling him affectionately, much to the tabby’s light annoyance. 

“I’m sure he’d like to know who the other half of his earring belongs to,” Chan said kindly, gesturing with a hand for his two friends to focus back up on the Lamington cake. “I mean, hopefully. Sometimes… what happened to Changkyun happens.” Chan frowned. “It’s such a delicate situation and I don’t know if there are really bad guys in either situation. You know?”

Jeongin looked over at him, brows furrowing together. “What do you mean?”

Chan began to crack the three eggs needed for the recipe, his expression grave. “I think it was a perfect storm of bad luck, but from what Miss. Raven’s said, he got the courage to tell his soulmate that they were soulmates and got rejected. There’s more going on to it than that, obviously, and it sounds like Changkyun might’ve chosen the wrong time to drop that bomb, but…” He closed his eyes with a soft sigh. “There’s always the danger, is what I’m trying to say. It might work out, it might not, but it’s important to try; we’re here with you regardless.” 

Hyunjin’s eyes widened. “His soulmate _rejected_ him? I didn’t know that could happen.” 

“It’s always possible,” Chan replied, shaking his head slightly. “It’s a tough thing, like it’s a pressure. ‘We’re _soulmates_ , society tells us that that means we’re perfect for each other,’ but it might feel to them that they’re _trapped with us_. At least, that’s our worry when we learn about our soulmates, but I truly believe that it takes time and work, like any other relationship.” 

Jeongin frowned as he looked down at the half-shaven coconut in his hands. “Yeah, that’s true. I guess, one way or another I’ll know. If he rejects me, then he rejects me. That’s… at least I’ll know.” He exhaled heavily. “I’m done talking about this; let’s make this damn cake.” 

“Fair enough,” Chan agreed with a smile. He knew all too well the anxiety and stress that came with the soulmate situation, and if he was honest with himself, it was still weighing on him. What he’d realized with talking with Felix, however, was that it wasn’t just him dealing with it; they were in it together and as they’d said to each other so often, it was them against the world. “Let’s give this one more try.” 

The second attempt at the Lamington turned out leagues better than the first one, and with Hyunjin and Jeongin’s help, Chan had a better idea of what to do when it came closer to the 14th. He soon became very relieved that he decided to start experimenting with baking this long before the big day, because the following days were filled with the logistical nightmare that was preparing for an event at _God’s Menu_. 

With a loud groan, Chan sat heavily in the backroom/Host’s dressing room, running a hand through his hair. “Things are coming together but I cannot stress how stressed I am,” Chan whispered, watching as Felix removed his makeup and a smile creased his lips; bare-faced Felix was his favourite Felix.

“I can’t believe everyone’s expecting us to keep their secrets!” Felix agreed, laughing as he tossed the makeup wipe into the trashcan. “I didn’t think Seonghwa-hyung and Jungkook-ssi would be the ones causing the most problems!” He laughed. “And Hongjoong-ssi has the balls to ask we don’t tell Seonghwa what he’s doing for Valentine’s Day! The secrets! The subterfuge! I can’t handle it, Chan!” 

Chan laughed and tugged Felix into his lap, completely and fully gone for the laughing young man in his arms. “It’s a lot of responsibility,” he agreed. “At least Hoseok-hyung and San already told their soulmates about the hosting date so we don’t have to worry about them. Minho and Jisung are taking care of their date themselves…” 

Felix hummed and nodded, absently playing with Chan’s ‘Stray Kids’ earring, twining the staggered, sparkling chains between his smaller fingers. “What about Miss. Raven and Seokjin-ssi?” 

“I don’t know, actually,” Chan confessed. “Those two might as well be ghosts with how tight they play things to the vest. But they’ve likely gotten it under control. How could they not?” 

Felix giggled and nuzzled his soulmate as he pressed close; the Lynx was a glutton for affection and skin-ship and Chan was all too happy to oblige. “That’s true. I don’t know if I know of two people who have their shit together more than Seokjin-ssi and Miss. Raven.” 

“— Bang Chan!” 

Startled to hear Seokjin’s voice carry all the way through the Host Club, Chan and Felix shared a look before Felix carefully got off Chan’s lap, allowing the Black Cat to exit the backroom and enter the main floor. “Jin-hyung?” Chan asked cautiously, reflexively holding his hands up in a surrender pose. He never quite knew what to expect with his mentor and decided to play it safe, as if the older man was a T-Rex; maybe if he didn’t make any sudden movements, Seokjin wouldn’t fly off the handle. “Is everything okay?’

 _Nothing_ was okay if Seokjin’s expression was anything to go by. The restauranteur’s face was ashen, brown eyes wide and usually immaculate appearance ruffled. He quickly crossed the floor with long strides, and put his hands on the Black Cat’s shoulders. “Is it true?!” he demanded urgently. 

“Is… is _what_ true?” Chan asked hesitantly. “—come on, let’s sit down and talk, hyung.” He took Seokjin’s hands in his and led him to one of the emptied host stations, with Felix quickly hurrying to the kitchen to get some tea going. “From the top?”

Seokjin ran a hand through his hair, giving Felix a grateful nod when the Lynx returned with three cups of steaming hot tea. “Thank you,” he said, swallowing thickly. “I, I just… is it true? That … Black Cats get their energy from their soulmate after they meet?” 

At that, Chan stilled. He could feel Felix’s hand quietly slide along his and intertwine his fingers. “Yes,” he answered after a long pause. “For the most part it’s not really something that’s talked about because you’re usually with your soulmate, your significant other, quite a bit so it’s not… you don’t really know it’s a thing you need to be aware of. I only recently became aware of it myself when we Black Cats were discussing … well, a soulmate rejecting a Black Cat.” 

The supermodel and fashion designer frowned, as if a fear had been confirmed. “So that’s why he was so mad at me,” he murmured to himself. “It’s… has Yuna looked tired to you lately?” Seokjin raised his head, half-moon earring jingling softly. 

“Yuna?” Chan asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“It’s Raven’s real name,” Seokjin replied absently, staring down at the cup of tea in his hands. “Raven’s an alias she uses for this… Black Cat stuff.” 

Felix’s eyes widened and he choked on his tea, struggling to control himself. Quickly, he wiped his mouth and waved a hand as both Seokjin and Chan stared at him in concern. “No, don’t mind me! I just… something you said just now made a lot of things click. As you were!” (Yuna’s the name of that noona Hongjoong was talking to about a clothing line! Raven has a clothing line! Hyunjin mentioned that the boy he’s talking to at Miss. Raven’s estate knows Raven well enough to live there… ahhh! That means Yuna is Yeosang’s sister and Yuna’s Miss. Raven! What do I do with this information??)

Confused but not about to press it when there were more urgent matters at hand, Chan had been ready to reply that Raven looked the same as she ever did, but suddenly recalled the Valentine’s Day meeting with the hosts and Black Cats. Taemin had his arm linked with Raven’s, explaining alongside Jiyong how she had been chasing after the five Black Cats she’d recently taken in. The Black Cat’s dual-coloured eyes widened as he realized that it wasn’t to be cute; Taemin had been supporting Raven’s weight while making it appear that she was perfectly fine. 

“When we had the meeting for our Valentine’s Day event, she seemed to be a bit tired, yes,” he confirmed carefully. “She’d recently taken in five young Black Cats; I thought it was related to that.”

Felix looked between the two older men. “How long has it been since you’ve seen each other?” He could feel Chan tense beside him, but it was clear the question had to be asked. 

Looking guilt-ridden, Seokjin ran a hand through his hair. “A couple months? Must be at least three, not since Christmas. She didn’t… she didn’t say anything. I … no, that’s no excuse, I should’ve figured it out.” 

“Figured it out _how?_ ” Chan asked, blinking. “If we didn’t know and _we’re_ Black Cats, how were _you_ supposed to know?” 

“I mean, she should’ve said something,” Felix pointed out. “That doesn’t seem like something Miss. Raven wouldn’t know if she knows all that other stuff.”

Chan sighed and nodded. “I can see where it wouldn’t be a conversation she’d want to have, being as self-sufficient as she is, but …”

Felix sucked his teeth and tilted his head from side to side. “Whatever the reason, you should go and talk to her, Seokjin-ssi. Talking to us isn’t going to do much to change anything but talking to Miss. Raven will sort this whole thing out.” 

“I agree with Felix,” Chan confirmed, squeezing his soulmate’s hand. “It’s an awkward conversation no matter how you slice it, but it definitely needs to happen.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Seokjin said softly, his long fingers tapping against the mug. He finished off the remaining tea before bowing and rising to his feet. “I’m going to go and take care of this. I apologize for my sudden appearance; this isn’t usually how I’d like to…” He gestured vaguely with his hand. “Make an appearance.” 

Chan smiled and rose to his feet, as did Felix, the pair bowing. “I did say feel free to come by any time,” the Black Cat said with a laugh. “Good luck.” 

“Thank you, both of you. I’m sorry about this,” Seokjin apologized, some semblance of his former composure beginning to return. 

“Don’t mention it,” Chan said, smiling. 

“Remember, communication is key!” Felix called, watching as the restauranteur gave them a fond smile before quickly saying his goodbyes and heading off as quickly as he’d come. “It’s never a dull moment here, is it?” 

Chan ran a hand through his hair and laughed, shaking his head. “We’re always on call,” he joked. “Come on, co-owner, let’s get that sexy, sexy paperwork done and get to bed. Tomorrow is…” he sighed. “More of the same.” 

Felix laughed and pressed a kiss to Chan’s cheek. “You never mentioned how freaking _boring_ actually running this Bar was.” 

“I mentioned it _constantly_ , you were just too busy clinging to Hyunjin, and making kissy faces at Changbin, hanging off of Seungmin…” Chan pointed out, laughing when Felix jokingly punched him in the arm. “Any chance to foist the responsibilities off on me so you can be good cop…” He chuckled and nuzzled Felix, giving him a little bite on the jugular and smiling at the little gasp he heard. “Or do you want to go upstairs now?”

“Now,” Felix whispered.

“Mm… hang onto that motivation so we can finish the closing duties,” Chan whispered back, a devilish smile on his lips. “Something to look forward to.”

Felix groaned. “You’re a fucking tease, Christopher Bang.”

Chan laughed, taking his soulmate’s hand and tugging him towards the office. “Come on, co-owner Felix Lee, it won’t take too long with both of working on it.”

In truth, as much as Felix was complaining about the paperwork, the quiet time he spent with Chan going through payroll and other administrative matters was something he always looked forward to. It was just the two of them, talking about anything and everything as they closed up shop for the night. Just as they had spent hours in the morning and early afternoon learning how to speak and write Korean, sharing stories of the insanity from their jobs at _Moon_ and _Star Shine_ , those memories alongside the ones they were making now were very close to both Chan and Felix’s hearts.

“What would you think about Hongjoong-ssi working here with Seonghwa-hyung?” Felix asked suddenly, once Chan had closed down the computer.

Chan blinked. “As a host?”

Felix nodded as he cracked his neck. “Hyunjin and I were just kind of joking about it, and it’s up to Seonghwa-hyung and Hongjoong-ssi, but, if like, they suggested it, would you be open to it?”

Looking thoughtful, Chan sat back in his seat. “As some kind of special appointment where it’s the two of them flirting with each other and the customer’s watching? It’s certainly unorthodox, but … if they’re okay with it and the customers are interested, I’d be fine with it. — have either Seonghwa or Hongjoong mentioned anything about it?”

“No, just speaking hypothetically,” Felix replied, grinning. “You never know when you’ll have to account for new and exciting hosting opportunities! We’re growing and the business is changing~”

Chan laughed. “Spoken like a true entrepreneur and marketing major,” he praised, winking as he got to his feet. “If Hongjoong and Seonghwa want to do that, I don’t mind. We always need more people; we’re getting overloaded on a daily basis. I’m grateful that we’re so successful, but it’s been non-stop for a while now.”

Felix nodded, hopping to his feet. “I think we should close for a week just to give everyone a break. But where would we place it?”

Humming thoughtfully as they left the office and locked the door with that week’s passcode, Chan tilted his head from side to side. “After the Bar’s anniversary,” he said finally as they began to make their way to the upstairs suite. “I think that’d be a perfect time for everyone to have a week off to just relax.”

“I think that’s perfect!” Felix agreed. “It really feels like things are coming together again, you know? Sannie showing up last year, and bringing Seonghwa-hyung in!” He beamed as he hopped up the next few steps. “And we got to meet Sannie’s soulmate this year!”

Chan smiled, nodding; San’s departure from _God’s Menu_ was deeply felt, although everyone knew that the Black Cat had to leave in order to find not only his soulmate, but his home. It made Chan’s heart full to hear that San considered both the Bar and his newfound friends his family; there was always so much love in San’s heart to give. “I’m glad he found him,” Chan said earnestly. “He always said he didn’t want to meet his soulmate, but I had a feeling he was just scared to.”

Felix tilted his head as he opened the door to Chan’s (and his, really) room. “Scared? Like… he’d be rejected?”

“That someone would be able to get through all his high defences,” Chan explained, starting to unbutton his black button-down with deft fingers after cleaning off his makeup with a wipe. “That someone would know him so well, and he wouldn’t be able to hide. I don’t know what kind of life San led before he went to _Aphrodite_ , or even while he was here, but… we Black Cats tend to have pretty similar backstories.”

The Lynx was silent for a moment as he cleaned off his own makeup, suddenly coming over and hugging his soulmate tightly. Surprised but not about to turn down a hug, Chan smiled and brought his arms around Felix. “Is… that how you and Jungkook-ssi bonded?”

“Mm-hmm,” Chan confirmed, pressing a kiss to Felix’s temple. “We were the only two Black Cats in the Old Man’s upper tier of members. No, that’s not true… there were two more that I remember hearing about, but it seemed like they weren’t an active part of the gang.”

Felix’s eyes were bright with curiosity. “Two more?”

The Black Cat nodded, hanging up his shirt primly on a hanger and putting it away in his closet. “Ryong and Yama,” he said, his gaze distant as he recalled memories that had been dormant in his mind for many years. “Dragon and Death. The Old Man would talk about them a lot, but it seemed like… they’d been gone for a long time by the time Bun and I came up.”

“Whoa,” Felix breathed. “Those are some baller names, mate.”

Chan laughed. “Honestly they didn’t sound real! The Old Man loved to spin some crazy yarns, so we never knew what was real and what wasn’t. He told me once that the Prime Minister paid an insane amount of money in order for Yama to bring his son back from the brink of death after a freak car accident.”

Felix’s eyes widened and he put a hand to his mouth. “Is… no way, Channie! There’s no way that someone can do something like that!”

“I couldn’t believe it either,” Chan agreed, shaking his head. “Necromancy is… it’s considered a Forbidden magic. All Black Magic can be considered bad, but there’s … there’s a lot of ethical and moral issues with Necromancy, as you can imagine. Having that kind of power? To heal or even…” He trailed off, shaking his head again. “It’s too much. The weight of it, the moral and ethical dilemmas… — ah, but who knows if Yama was real. Same with Ryong; he could cast high level hexes and I heard he was the reason the current Minister of Defence is in his position.”

A frown creased the Lynx’s lips. “It seems like you guys really have a tough go of it… do you let the world use you as a punching bag or exploit you in some way for their own gain? I see why… I see why you and Sannie would use this as a way of reclaiming what being a Black Cat is.” He smiled. “You guys are really strong. I’m glad you were able to find Miss. Raven and the others; it’d be so sad if you guys were all alone.”

“We’re just stubborn,” Chan replied, laughing as he pulled Felix into his lap. “And you’re strong too, Felix. I’ve never seen anyone just tackle things like you have and with a smile, to boot.” He placed a soft kiss to his favourite cluster of freckles on the Lynx’s face, right on the bridge of his nose. “Having the others is nice, but having you is the best.”

“I’ll never leave you behind,” Felix said softly, brushing some of Chan’s hair out of his eyes, his fingers lightly trailing down the dark scar on his right eye. His soulmate had an old scar when they first met, given to him by a bully that hated Chan’s dual-coloured eyes. When he defended the Bar from Kim Sungho, owner of _Star Shine_ and admitted ringleader of the were-cat trafficking ring that Felix, Chan, Seungmin and Hyunjin had been sold into, Chan sustained a second eye injury, almost inlaid completely over his old one. The Black Cat was initially sensitive about the brightness of the scar, wishing to cover it up with thick make-up, but was dissuaded from it by not only his customers and the other hosts, but Felix.

_“Your scar is a part of you like your eyes, like my freckles and Hyunjin’s beauty mark. If someone doesn’t like it, they can get fucked.”_

_“You always have such a way with words, Felix.”_

Chan smiled, taking Felix’s hand in his and kissing the Lynx’s fingertips. “I’ll never leave you behind,” he repeated, his lips passing over the thin silver ring on Felix’s middle finger. “Now… I seem to recall I made something of a promise to you once we finished closing duties…” He pressed a kiss to Felix’s cheeks. “Your choice.”

“We have an early day tomorrow,” Felix lamented, stealing a quick kiss from Chan’s lips, smiling at the faint taste of black cherry. “So we can’t do too much… but I know what I could do.”

“Mm, and what can you do, Lee Felix?” Chan asked, easily letting himself be pushed back onto the bed.

Felix licked his lips as he trailed his hands down Chan’s bare chest, always taking his time to lavish attention on the beautifully detailed tattoos that covered his soulmate’s body. “Make you come apart with my tongue,” he answered boldly.

The Black Cat’s blue and yellow eyes widened as his breath hitched, tattooed hands gripping the comforter as Felix unbuckled and unlatched his belt. It really shouldn’t have surprised Chan at this point how bold Felix could be, but it seemed that his soulmate loved to keep him on his toes. “Yeah? You don’t want me to—”

“Valentine’s Day,” Felix interrupted quickly, licking his lips. “Save it for Valentine’s Day.”

Recognition dawned on Chan’s handsome features, and he nodded, swallowing tightly as Felix palmed him through his slacks. “Felix…” he breathed, always touch-starved for his soulmate. The thought of not being able to be with Felix, to not feel his touches, hear his voice, being separated from his soulmate like Changkyun by rejection, or due to schedules like Raven…

The Lynx grinned and began to leave a trail of love bites down Chan’s tanned skin, taking particular care to leave them nice and bright; only Felix would be able to see these ones. He paid extra attention to Chan’s thighs, especially where his magical glyph tattoos were located on the meatiest part. Call him base, but Felix loved to lavish attention on those tattoos, on the sensitive skin and to hear the usually calm and composed Chan slowly start to unravel.

Chan always put everyone above himself, and it was Felix’s duty to make sure that he took care of the Black Cat. His own pants were getting too tight, and with a bit of a grunt, Felix shifted and practically shoved them off. “Fucking hell,” he muttered.

“I told you not to listen to Hyunjin and get them so tight,” Chan chided breathlessly, pushing himself up onto his elbows.

Felix huffed and climbed back on the bed, shirt gone and determination bright in his green eyes. “It was a good idea at the time,” he protested.

“Hyunjin’s plans only ever work out for Hyunjin, and even then, he gets his comeuppance from Minho right — _oh, god_ …” Chan’s voice trailed off with a choked moan as his soulmate wasted no further time in getting what he wanted. The Lynx’s lips were hot and teasing around his cock, skilled with the experience of their time together over the years. Chan’s eyes rolled back into his head as another soft moan tumbled past his lips, a surprised sound pitching high when Felix took Chan’s right hand and guided it to his thick bond hair.

While he had always paid close attention to how much of Felix’s emotions and by extension his thoughts that he could sense through his emotions, Chan was completely unable to do so now. All he could feel throughout every fibre of his being was Felix’s love, lust, and outright determination to make the Black Cat come with just his mouth. It never took much for him to climax when Chan was this finely attuned to his soulmate’s emotions, and this time was no exception.

Felix was wickedly skilled with his tongue and his lips, even making extensive use of his smaller hands. He knew exactly which buttons of Chan’s to push, how hard, how long, and what kind of small gasps, moans and muffled hums that hit the target.

 _Come for me, Channie_.

The command came through loud and clear in Felix’s emotions, so powerful in its sincerity that Chan’s response was a choked cry as his fingers tightened in his soulmate’s sun-kissed blond hair. His climax rippled through him, the instinctive command from Felix to stay where he was so the Lynx could swallow it all was so clear that Chan had no choice but to obey. Felix’s ever-growing confidence was the sexiest thing about him, and Chan loved nothing more than encouraging it.

“Felix…” Chan breathed, mind pleasure-dumb and drowning in overwhelming affection for his soulmate. “That was… you’re… you’re amazing.”

A satisfied grin came to Felix’s lips as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You look so hot when you come, Channie.”

Slowly, as he pushed himself up despite still being in the heady haze that was his post-orgasmic bliss, Chan pulled his soulmate into a kiss. “Let me help you,” he whispered.

“No need,” Felix whispered back a bit shyly. How he had the gall to blush and look so sweet after what he just did with his mouth, Chan had no idea.

Chan’s brows furrowed. “What do you…” He looked down between them where there was a tell-tale splotch of wetness on Felix’s boxers. “Really? Just from…?”

“You’re really hot when you come,” Felix reiterated, cheeks heating up. “And, I dunno if you know this, but when you really let go, I can feel it so _strongly_ that I… I come so fast.”

The Black Cat’s eyes widened and a lovesick grin came to his lips as he pressed his forehead against Felix’s, hands resting on his soulmate’s cheeks. “I love you, Felix.” It was still so wild to him that he could say it, that he could have this amazing, vibrant, beautiful man in his arms, in his life that loved _him_ and it was _okay_.

Felix’s blush darkened, highlighting his freckles beautifully. “I love you too. But … can we get cleaned up? I’m starting to get crusty.”

“You sure know how to set the mood.”

~ * ~

Distressed that he woke up late, Chan was in the midst of pulling on and buttoning up his black shirt when he came down the stairs to the main floor of _God’s Menu_. He hastily ran a hand through his hair as he saw Raven enter, pulling a long rack of clothing behind her. Chan was always impressed how Raven could look so well put together when she had to be running on as little sleep as Chan himself, but there seemed to be a different look about her this morning. Remembering his and Felix’s talk with Seokjin a few nights before, he hoped that they were able to work things out.

“Noona! Good morning,” he greeted, trying not to look as wrecked as he felt.

Raven turned and smiled, dressed a bit more simply than usual in a pair of black jeans and a fitted t-shirt of Taemin’s band underneath a sleek black leather jacket. “Good Morning,” she greeted in kind. “Ah, I wanted to ask a favour of you if I could, while it’s just the two of us.”

Chan blinked and nodded. “If I can help, I will.”

“For the appointment at the end of the night on the 14th… I wanted to thank Hyunjin for his help the last two weeks and I was wondering if it would be too much to arrange for a date so he can enjoy his Valentine’s Day,” Raven explained, a smile on her painted lips. “He’s gotten rather close to Yeosang, and I think it would be good for both of them to relax after the last while; they’ve been through a lot recently.”

Surprised and delighted, Chan nodded. “Ordinarily I would say it might be received badly, but Hyunjin really seems to like this Yeosang; he talks about him all the time. I’ll let Minho and Changbin know, but I assume we’re wanting to keep this a surprise?”

Raven nodded. “It’s going to be a surprise for Yeosang,” she said with a chuckle. Her blue eyes glinted mischievously in the early morning light. “If he’s going to insert himself into my business with good intentions, it’s only fair I do the same.”

Chan blinked. “Noona?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Raven said with a little wave of her hand. She looked over as the hosts and Black Cats slowly started to fill into _God’s Menu_ for a fitting, instantly getting rowdy and loud as they commiserated with each other, laughing and joking and generally, causing a lot of chaos. Loudly and soundly, Raven clapped her hands together. “OI! Line up! Black Cats over here, the rest of you over there. I don’t have time to waste!”

Her voice was so strong and authoritative that the were-cats quickly straightened up and got into position. Chan was impressed; it usually took a lot more wrangling for him to get everyone in one spot – it was literally like herding cats – but in one fell swoop, Raven had everyone lined up and at attention. “Wow.”

Raven smirked and gestured with her head to the Black Cat line. “You too. Get moving.”

“—Right,” Chan smiled sheepishly and joined his Black Cat brethren, shooting a dirty look to Jungkook who snickered at him. “Shut it, Bun.”

The younger Black Cat just grinned at him. “She’s like a mob boss in a drama. That was some shit the Old Man would pull.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised at this point,” Chan mumbled back, a smile tugging at his lips. “She’s such a mystery. The only person that might know is Jin-hyung, her soulmate.”

Jungkook blinked. “She’s Jin-hyung’s soulmate? That explains a lot; he’s super affectionate to Black Cats and talks about a sanctuary all the time. I thought he was just being weird.” He remembered when the restauranteur seemed excited to learn that Jungkook was a Black Cat, and finding so incredibly odd; it went against everything he knew about the world.

A smile creased Chan’s lips. “He is, but who amongst us isn’t?”

“Fair enough.”

Raven handed a differently styled suit to each host, and when everyone returned dressed to the nines in their outfit and provided accessories, was meticulous as she looked them over. A small smile creased her lips as Felix tilted his head the opposite direction as she did _when_ she did, a wide smile creasing the Lynx’s lips as he saw that he’d gotten her to crack. “How do I look, noona?”

“Hmm… let me try something,” Raven mused as she carefully removed the pair earrings that she’d initially given Felix, instead switching it out for one giant earring that would rest on his left ear. It was a gorgeous statement piece that stood out against his bright freckles and tanned skin. Raven tilted Felix’s chin up and to the side, checking the angles. “Perfect. What do you think, Channie?”

Chan wondered if his mentor was trying to kill him on purpose. “I think Felix makes anything look amazing,” he answered earnestly.

“You learned a little too well from Seokjin, I see,” Raven replied, but seemed rather tickled by the whole thing. “You’ve definitely won points with Felix.” She tapped one of Felix’s freckled cheeks that was beginning to redden with embarrassment. “Cutie. Weren’t you the one that asked me for what he’d like?”

“Noona!” Felix whined, putting his face in his hands. He snuck a glance at Chan, however, and gave him a wink – it always surprised the Black Cat how his soulmate could turn on a dime and go from flustered and sweet to sinful and confident. He loved that about Felix – well, loved _everything_ about him, really.

The rest of the fitting went without much of an issue, with the group splitting off to take care of their business – offsite if they weren’t the usual hosts, and their mid-day duties if they were – and Chan rubbed his neck. A part of him really wished for a break, but the other part of him was intent on pushing forward to ensure that this place that was so important to him, to his soulmate and his family remained operational.

But… the idea of a vacation, even for a couple days was beginning to sound more and more tempting by the moment. Chan suddenly realized that his plan for Valentine’s Day, once the Bar’s event had wrapped was beginning to sound more and more like the best plan he’d had yet. Just him and Felix being able to relax and spend time with one another, idly talking and vegging out on the couch watching TV… it sounded heavenly.

“Is he all right?” Raven asked, her concerned voice cutting through Chan’s frenetic thoughts, having switched her phone call to speaker while she fought with a garment bag. “Shit. I have half a mind to speak to those idiots myself.”

“Soobin and the others are with him right now, trying to cheer him up,” came a voice on the other end that Chan didn’t immediately recognize. “But it’s not what he needs.”

“No,” Raven agreed. “He needs his soulmate.”

The voice on the other end snorted. “That’s not going to happen anytime soon. From the sounds of it, the whole band thinks Kyun-hyung’s a label plant and has iced him out; seems like the guy the label fired from the band after they signed was their best friend so it feels like the label’s forcing Kyun-hyung on them.”

Raven sighed and ran a hand through her hair, about to respond when Chan walked over. He looked at her for silent permission, speaking only when she gave a slight nod. “This is Bang Chan. Would it help if I came over to see Changkyun? I can’t fix this issue with his soulmate, but I could try and even out his emotional state enough that he can try and conserve his energy.”

“It’s worth a shot,” came the voice on the other end. “I think someone needs to talk to his soulmate, though; he needs to know the whole story.”

“We focus on stabilizing Changkyun first,” Raven replied. “I’ll speak to Lee Minhyuk later. The band composition is something they need to fix, but his soulmate needs as much information as possible to make an informed decision about all this. – Chan and I will be there soon.”

“Okay,” the voice confirmed. “See you soon, noona.”

As the line disconnected, Raven sighed and slipped the phone into her pocket. “I’m sorry about dragging you into this, Chan,” she apologized. “You have enough on your plate already.”

Chan shook his head. “It’s okay; I want to help. Just let me brief Felix and Minho, and we can go ASAP.” At Raven’s nod, Chan broke away and with a gesture of his hand, pulled Felix and Minho aside for a brief sidebar. “Miss. Raven needs my help at the estate,” he began, “one of the Black Cats there is going through a pretty rough time and I’m going to see if my magic can’t help. Can you two hold down the fort?”

Felix’s eyes widened slightly but as he shared a look with Minho, nodded. “Yeah, absolutely. Can I … can I ask what happened?”

“His soulmate rejected him and he’s spiralling pretty badly. I think his sub-magic is empathic based, like my magic and Hoseok-hyung’s; so if things are bad between him and his soulmate, he’s feeling it a thousand fold.”

Felix frowned, and he looked up at his soulmate, as if afraid to voice his next question aloud. “Did you … ever feel like that?”

Chan nodded. “When we… when you moved out, I could feel everything you did. – please don’t feel guilty about how you felt then, it was completely valid, Felix.”

The Lynx’s eyes widened and he looked down. “I didn’t realize… I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Chan said gently, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “No matter what they were at the time, your feelings were and are valid. But, that’s probably what Changkyun-hyung is feeling right now so I’m going to see if I can’t help ease the sting.”

Minho nodded. “Good luck. We can take care of things here.”

“Thank you, Minho, Felix. Good luck; the decorators should be coming in today to start the staging in earnest, so—”

“The service is reduced, we got it,” Minho cut him off, waving a hand. “Get moving. Don’t keep Miss. Raven waiting.”

“Right. Thank you.” Chan bowed quickly and hurried off to meet up with his mentor, the two of them leaving the host bar as quickly as they could. “…Noona, are you feeling all right? You’re not overworking yourself, are you?”

Raven’s lips curled into a thin smile. “Always, but I’ll be fine… I know I’m better at giving advice than I am at taking it. – So tell me: what are you planning on doing for Felix on Valentine’s Day? He seemed very eager to look his best for the 14th; he asked me what style you’d like the best.”

Chan’s face heated up, and he hid it in his large hands. “Noona!” he whined, not unlike how Felix had whined earlier at the Bar, “I… it’s nothing crazy. I’m, uh, I’m going to bake a cake that um, is from Australia, it’s called a Lamington. I also ordered a bunch of Australian snacks and a box set of an anime Felix really liked back when he was a kid… I was thinking we’d just relax and spend some time together, and watch it.” He rubbed his neck. “I don’t have a lot of great memories of Australia but Felix does, so I thought… it’d be nice.”

“That’s… that’s adorable,” Raven commented, sounding surprised. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”

“W-What about you?” Chan croaked, desperate to keep the attention off himself. “Are…” he cleared his throat. “Are you and Seokjin-hyung doing anything special?”

Raven hummed as she kept her eyes on the road, taking them back to her estate. “He seems to be planning something after the appointment on the 14th, but your guess is as good as mine as to what he’s up to; he seems very gung-ho about it.”

“I don’t think Seokjin-hyung does anything halfway,” Chan agreed. “I know he was worried about you running yourself ragged.”

“I seem to be quite the hot topic,” Raven teased, a smirk creasing her lips as Chan appeared sheepish. “No, it’s quite all right; I’m just not used to having this much attention on me. I’ve made quite a habit of keeping myself in the background, so this is… this is new.”

Chan tilted his head slightly. “People caring about you?”

“People sticking around.” His mentor’s eyes seemed distant, even as they were focused on the road, as if she was having difficulties putting what she was feeling into words. Even with his strong emotion-based magic, Chan always had a hell of a time getting a handle on Raven; it was as if the older woman had walled herself off with a powerful magic.

Or, as he suspected, Raven had shut her emotions off.

Soon, however, they reached Raven’s estate and the conversation was set aside. As they entered, a young man Chan recognized as Yeosang – from Hyunjin’s picture – was waiting for them just inside the main foyer. “How is he?” Raven asked, unbuttoning her heavy winter coat as they walked.

“Not good,” Yeosang sighed. “He’s barely coherent, but what we’ve been able to parse out is that his soulmate’s in rough shape too so it’s just one big vortex of self-loathing and suck.”

Chan frowned. “If they’re both feeling the same way, Changkyun-hyung is definitely going to be spiralling out and _hard_. I know I was barely cognizant when I was experiencing something similar.”

“He’s a lot more sensitive than he lets on,” Raven said quietly, a frown creasing her lips. “This whole thing with the band and his soulmate that’s _in_ the band… it’s complicated.”

Yeosang waved his hand and led the pair down a winding path to the residential part of the estate to a single room that was currently filled with six young men. Changkyun was sitting in the middle of the bed, surrounded by Soobin, Yeonjun, Taehyun, Beomgyu and Kai. It would’ve been a heartwarming sight if it wasn’t for the utterly painful state Changkyun was in. The young man’s head was hanging low, layered black hair covering his tear-streaked cheeks.

“So what’s the plan?” Yeosang asked, looking over at Chan.

Chan didn’t need to delve too far to see how extensive the emotional damage was if it was causing Changkyun physical pain - the older Black Cat was spiralling out, internalizing all the pain, hurt, betrayal, guilt and anger that was coming from his soulmate. “It wouldn’t be right to ‘erase’ how he’s feeling, it’s important he work through this on his own strength but what we can do is clear the deck, so to speak.”

Soobin’s sapphire-hued eyes widened. “You mean like… clean up the mess that’s his emotions?”

“Right, exactly,” Chan confirmed. “It’s like someone came in and shoved down all the shelves in a library and all the books are mixed up and all over the place.”

Taehyun shared a look with Beomgyu. “So if we put everything back…”

“…He’ll be okay?” Beomgyu finished, head tilted.

Chan nodded. “That’s right. This is a really tricky one because we’re dealing with his soulmate’s emotions too, so I’m gonna need you guys’ help. Think you’re up for the challenge? It’s going to be really tough.”

Kai’s grey eyes widened and he looked over at the others, who nodded to each other, then to Chan. “Yeah! We wanna help Changkyun-hyung.”

“Hang in there, hyung,” Yeonjun said quietly, brushing some of Changkyun’s sharply cut forelocks away from his eyes. He frowned when all he received from the older man was a pained exhale.

Yeosang and Raven shared a look with one another, moving to the back of the room to give Chan and the others some space. “So this is the infamous Bang Chan,” Yeosang said, leaning back against the wall, his arms folded.

“I kept meaning to introduce the two of you,” Raven said, chuckling. “The stars never aligned.”

“Why does everyone keep calling me infamous?” Chan asked, laughing a little. “Okay, which one of you feels the most comfortable being the focal point of this spell with me? You’re going to have to be steady and you can’t be carried away by the … well, literal emotion of it all.”

The five young Black Cats shared a look with one another before Yeonjun, Soobin, Kai and Beomgyu all slapped their hands onto Taehyun. “He doesn’t really have feelings,” Kai explained, laughing as Taehyun swatted at him.

“What Kai _means_ to say is that Taehyun is the most emotionally mature out of the five of them,” Raven said from where she was standing with Yeosang. A faint smirk curled her lips. “It’s a bit of a sliding scale, though.”

“ _Noona_ ,” Taehyun groaned, trying to shrug off the others as they piled on him. They quickly straightened up, however, when Raven snapped her fingers and gestured for them to pay attention to Chan. “Right. Sorry. I’m in. What do you need me to do?”

Chan smiled. (All these guys need is a direction. They mean well.) “You and I are going to be holding Changkyun’s hands and what we need to do is be very clear and very firm in sending a specific feeling to him. Have you done anything like that before?”

Taehyun fell silent, thinking about it for a moment before nodding. “Soobin-hyung had a panic attack once and we grounded him. Is it like that?”

“Exactly like that. But because Changkyun’s secondary specialty is empathic magic and he’s linked closely to his soulmate, he’s feeling what his soulmate is too. So you and I need to tag team this while Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu and Kai keep us both steady.” He looked at the four other young men. “Don’t think about anything else but Taehyun and I, okay? No matter what Changkyun or his soulmate feel or think, keep focused on the two of us.”

“Got it,” Beomgyu confirmed.

“Let’s do it,” Yeonjun agreed.

Soobin sighed and nodded, squaring his shoulders back. “Okay.”

Chan nodded back. “Follow my lead. If it gets to be too much, let me know; no shame in it. This is really, really difficult. — okay, here we go.”

Taehyun exhaled deeply and nodded, holding onto Chan’s hand and Changkyun’s. Nervousness briefly flitted across his emotional wave, but was quickly assuaged away by the feeling of Soobin, Kai, Beomgyu and Yeonjun’s magic connecting with his. Chan was momentarily distracted by how intricately and inter-connected the five of them were with each other’s magic, but he didn’t miss how there seemed to be one connector missing - it must be Jeongin, he realized.

Quickly, Chan refocused; they didn’t have time to be ruminating on the intricacies of the five. He’d only deep delved like this a few times before, when he’d helped Jeongin with his night terrors, when Jisung asked him for help with his anxieties, and when he was helping teach Changkyun with his sub-specialty. It was a wholly different experience than how Chan would normally use his magic, which would be surface level and just to share light touches of his or someone else’s emotions.

This was completely different.

It felt as if he and Taehyun both were thrown into the deep end of a maelstrom, powered by very strong emotions: guilt, anger, confusion and love. If Chan was asked to explain what it looked and felt like, a maelstrom in a tiny, beat up boat that had no business being there would be the most accurate. In the swirling vortex of pain and hurt, Chan and Taehyun could see Changkyun and his soulmate - a tall, slender man with plush lips and soft eyes, his rose-grey hair as stylishly cut as Changkyun’s - chained to the ground and to each other.

‘Hyung, this is a mess,’ came Taehyun’s voice. ‘Can we do this?’

‘Yes, but we have to go slow,’ Chan replied. ‘Work from the outside in, imprinting a calming sensation, like… a warm hug from someone they trust. Don’t think of anyone specific, just that feeling. Clear as mud?’

‘Okay.’

Taehyun was a quick learner, maybe even quicker than Chan himself and true to what Kai and Raven said, was as steady as a rock. There seemed to be some undercurrents of confusion, such as why they wouldn’t just talk to each other, but Taehyun was young; he’d learn how to fully keep his own emotions safely cordoned off while doing this. He was “watching” Chan carefully, following suit or changing course when he saw what he was doing wasn’t quite right.

Once he was satisfied that Taehyun could handle it on his own, Chan focused on his own part of the difficult task. He went directly to the ‘eye of the storm’ as it were, cutting a swath of calmness in his wake. To say that Changkyun and his soulmate had complicated feelings towards one another was an understatement: the bond between them was strong and whenever there was a bit of repair on their link, it would immediately fray and tear and repair itself again.

 _“You’re a freak!”_  
 _“I can’t believe we lost hyung and got you instead!”  
_ _“Get away from me! Did you just fucking close his wound? What the fuck are you?”_

As Chan got closer, he realized the cause of the complication: the soulmate felt like he was betraying his childhood friends by wanting to give Changkyun a chance. The knee-jerk reaction to overcompensate and follow suit in isolating him from practice and shooting down anything he did was an attempt to keep both his friendship but try and help their career. It seemed he understood both sides and felt terrible about it.

That was a relief; that meant there was a chance to fix this.

With a slow, measured exhale, Chan placed his hands on the ‘chain’ that connected Changkyun and his soulmate. He grit his teeth; their emotions were powerful and they were raw, threatening to pull Chan down into the abyss with them but he held firm. While Taehyun was focused on the outward mess, Chan’s focus had to be here, at the focal point of the connection. His chest constricted as Changkyun’s emotions so clearly mirrored his own nearly two years ago, but he knew this could help push through the walls that were haphazardly being thrown up in his way.

‘There’s hope.’

That was the message Chan imprinted on the chain, the only thing he was thinking as he carefully and with the precision of a surgeon sent that emotion and that emotion only to the Black Cat and his soulmate. The darkness swirling around the pair slowly, very slowly began to dissipate, the landscape beginning to carefully turn into something more organized, more bright. Chan was impressed; Taehyun was working quicker than he anticipated, largely having to do with the boy’s natural maturity and the strength of the bond he had with his four soulmates.

‘Done, hyung.’

Taehyun’s voice was so soft and so sure that Chan almost didn’t hear it. ‘Okay, same here. This is about all we can do; I hope it’s enough. Now follow my lead, we have to be careful when we get out of this or we’ll make them into potatoes.’

‘Way to bury the lead on this, hyung.’

Chan fought back a smirk as he guided Taehyun - and by extension, the other four - out of Changkyun and his soulmate’s emotional connection, opening his dual-coloured eyes with a sigh of relief. “There,” he breathed. “That’s… that’s about all we can do.” He looked over at Raven, a frown on his lips. “Noona, can I talk to you for a moment?”

Raven’s beautiful features became concerned for a moment before she nodded. “Yes, of course. Yeosang, can you keep an eye on everyone? They’ll be exhausted from the exertion so they should be rather pliable.”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Yeosang confirmed, nodding.

“Thank you,” she said gently, smiling as she pressed a kiss to his forehead, following Chan out of the room. “Is something the matter, Chan?”

Chan shifted uncomfortably and closed the door behind them. “…what’s Changkyun’s expertise in, noona? I think… that might be a big reason why he’s having such a hard time being comfortable in his own skin, with his soulmate, with the rock band he’s in…”

Raven’s expression, for the briefest of moments faltered and Chan got an overwhelming sense of _guilt_ that radiated off his mentor. In an instant it was gone, and the usual distance remained between them. “Necromancy,” she whispered. “Changkyun is… he’s a sweet boy; he wants to use his ability for good, but this ability… there’s no positive connotation to it. Even if we can use it to heal, people are afraid of it. Afraid of that power, to bring to life what should be dead. I’ve never seen someone learn of this ability and see only the good in it right away… but not everyone shares that view. He’s learning that now.”

It felt as if someone had sucked the air out of the room and Chan felt lightheaded. As he struggled to process Raven’s words, something in them caught his attention. “—did you say ‘we’?”

“Let me take you back to the bar, Channie,” Raven replied quietly. “Neither of us can afford to spend much time dallying.”

There was that coldness again, Chan thought as he nodded and followed his mentor. He watched as she sent a text - presumably to Yeosang, to advise him they were going off-estate - and as they got into her car, placed a hand over hers. “It’s okay to depend on us too,” Chan said quietly. “You’ve done so much for all of us, the least we can do is support you when you need it. This community, this foundation… you should be able to benefit from that support base too.”

For a long moment, Raven didn’t reply, but Chan could sense an almost imperceptible shift in her energy - it became something a bit warm, and a bit hesitant. It reminded him of when he’d told Raven that he’d found her soulmate; that brief flash of vulnerability that was quickly stamped out on instinct. “Thank you, Chan,” she said quietly.

“Anytime, noona.”

~ * ~

It was finally Valentine’s Day, and Chan could not be happier to almost be on the other side of what had been an incredibly stressful two weeks. Everything for the evening was waiting upstairs, including a Lamington cake, and a certifiable mountain of snacks that he’d heard Felix mention he used to love when living back in Australia. Wrapped in a garish Valentine’s Day print gift wrap was a box set of _Dragon Ball Z_ , the original cut with the original dub voices. Unable to make a decision between that and a newer cut that cut out a lot of fluff, Chan also had gotten _DBZ: Kai_ , realizing quite quickly he’d gone overboard. But perhaps a part of him still wanted to make up for what should have been their first Valentine’s Day together.

He snapped out of his own thoughts when he made his way to the front foyer and saw Wooyoung standing around, dressed stylishly and looking around like he’d found the North Pole. A smile came to Chan’s lips as Wooyoung’s excitement and eagerness to see San and impress him came through loud and clear. Unable to help himself, Chan walked over and clapped his hands down on Wooyoung’s shoulders.

“Ah, good evening,” Wooyoung greeted sheepishly.

“Evening,” Chan greeted back, laughing. “You’re right on time; Sannie is just fretting up. Want to go to his table and be a nice surprise for him?”

It was cute how brightly Wooyoung’s face lit up at the suggestion; it reminded him of Felix. “You read my mind,” he agreed, grinning. “Who decorated this place? It looks incredible.”

“That would be my mentor, Miss. Raven. — Ah, she’s right over there. That’s her soulmate, Kim Seokjin sitting with her,” Chan explained, gesturing with a wave of his hand towards Raven’s table where she was speaking with the fashion designer.

Wooyoung’s eyes widened. “Kim Seokjin? How do you and Sannie just _know_ him? — wait.” He stopped short, causing Chan to stop also. “That’s Yeosang’s sister!”

“Miss. Raven has a _brother?_ ” Chan echoed, eyes widening. Suddenly, a lot of things began to make sense: why Yeosang was at the estate, why he was trusted with so much despite being a human and not a Black Cat, and why he’d be with Raven while Hyunjin was helping her. “Ah, you know, we’ll put a pin in that for later; San’s about ready to come back.” Carefully, he guided Wooyoung to San’s table and smiled as the Bengal quickly got himself back on track. “Enjoy your appointment, Wooyoung!”

His mind was reeling as he left the younger were-cat to his date with his soulmate, and Chan had to make a quick pitstop at the bar manned by BamBam. “Did _you_ know that Miss. Raven had a brother?” Chan asked in disbelief.

BamBam blinked. “Yeosang? Yeah.”

“Wh - was I the only one who didn’t know?” Chan asked, turning to face the older man in surprise.

“Nah, not many people know,” BamBam replied, sliding a drink over to him. “Miss. Raven keeps things close to the vest on purpose and she doesn’t want this stuff negatively impacting Yeosang. The only reason I know is because I’ve been helping out at the estate so long.”

Chan sighed softly and ran a hand through his hair as he leaned against the bar counter, taking a sip of the drink. He paused, admiring the taste - it was warm with a bit of fruit infusion. It felt like Chan was sitting on the couch with Felix, both of them curled up underneath a blanket and watching trashy reality television. “This is amazing, Bam. Did you make this with Bun — I mean, Jungkook?”

BamBam nodded. “Sure did, man! Jungkookie’s a real whiz with potions; I can see why Jiyong-hyung took a liking to him. He picked this up like it was nothing and had some real fun ideas. I was gonna go more sexy with the drinks tonight but he said it’d be better to have something more… y’know, comforting. Shit’s been rough and Valentine’s Day likes to punch you in the face with loneliness if you’re single and insecurities if you’re with someone.”

“That’s pretty smart,” Chan said with a smile, taking another sip from the cocktail as he waited for Felix to be done with his last appointment. “Ah, there’s Yeosang. Now this explains why Miss. Raven wanted him to come and be Hyunjin’s date.”

BamBam blinked, grinning at the admission. “So _Hyunjin’s_ the one that Yeosang’s been talking about? Skrrt skrrt! That explains so much. They’re cute together, right?”

Chan laughed, finishing off the rest of the cocktail and placing it down on the counter. “Don’t get carried away; I still haven’t told the others that your boyfriend is here waiting tables,” he warned, grinning when BamBam’s expression changed so suddenly from excitement to horror. “I’m just kidding. Thank you for the drink, Bam.” He winked and headed towards the front door, bowing slightly when he saw Yeosang stand awkwardly in the front foyer, dressed impeccably in a couture Gucci suit in steely blue.

“Good Evening,” Yeosang greeted, though it was clear he was hella suspicious of what was happening. “Would you happen to know why my sister insisted I be here?”

The Black Cat laughed a little bit and bowed slightly. “She wanted you to enjoy your Valentine’s Day,” he replied easily, indicating for Yeosang to follow him with a slight inclination of his head. “She was mentioning that you’d been going through a lot lately and deserved a night to relax.”

Yeosang’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, and a small smirk creased his lips - now that Chan was looking for it, he really did resemble his older sister. “I’m sure that’s what she told you,” he said, shaking his head. “But I was expecting something like this after I yelled at her soulmate.”

Chan’s eyes widened. “You … yelled at Kim Seokjin?” (Wait, didn’t Seokjin-hyung say ‘so that’s why he was so mad at me.’?)

For a brief moment, Yeosang looked embarrassed, but he seemed unrepentant about it in the end. “My sister… is very good at helping others and giving advice but she’s shit at taking it herself. I didn’t want to interfere but… he had to know.”

“That’s really brave of you,” Chan said, impressed. “I hope it helped. — if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and get your date.”

“You’re not going to tell me who it is?” Yeosang asked, tilting his head. He had that same piercing stare Raven did, and Chan almost folded. What a trait to be hereditary!

Chan laughed. “I promised. But it’s a good surprise, trust me.”

He winked and headed off once he got Yeosang settled at Hyunjin’s table. As he passed through the main floor, he saw Hongjoong at Seonghwa’s station, shamelessly flirting with Seonghwa’s last customer of the night, a woman named Mina. A smile came to his lips and he was about to walk over and say hello when he saw Felix gesture for him to come over to his table.

“—Minho,” Chan said, stopping the Birman were-cat in the midst of his own survey of the floor, “can you let San, Seonghwa and Hyunjin know their dates are here?”

Minho nodded. “Sure. Get to your own date.” He smirked and gave Chan a nudge with his elbow, heading off towards the backroom.

The bar was beginning to empty, the Hosts now transitioning to their personal dates, and the energy in _God’s Menu_ shifted. It was less frenetic, bombastic and big theatre energy, and now something more intimate, personal. The Hosts who didn’t have dates sat at one of the bigger group tables, sharing a large meal and a special drink set together. As Chan surveyed the Host Bar, now in its purest form, with the people that made it the special place that it’d become, Chan’s heart felt full.

Somehow, a stray like him was able to find his family, his home, and be a steady place for those who didn’t know where theirs was. It was so far beyond his wildest dreams that Chan still didn’t think it was real. But it was, and he was going to savour it.

~ * ~

Felix took a deep breath and straightened himself out as he saw Chan make his way over to Felix’s host station. The Black Cat was dressed to perfection, his gothic black suit fitting perfectly, and Felix knew that Raven had done it on purpose to have Chan’s shirt mostly unbuttoned and his neck draped in gorgeous silver jewellery. It looked incredible against Chan’s tanned, tattooed skin, and never in his life was he more grateful that Raven seemed to know exactly how to dress Chan in just the right way to have Felix’s brain melt. Chan gave him a dashing smile as he came over to Felix’s table, and gave a wink to the younger host.

“I’m glad I could finally get an appointment with you, Felix,” Chan said teasingly. “Your waitlist is a mile long and going into next year.”

Felix blinked before catching the joke and he laughed, all the tension evaporating out of his slender frame. “I heard that you pulled some strings with the owner,” he teased back, taking Chan’s larger hand in his. He raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the tattoo on the back of Chan’s hand of the _God’s Menu_ logo and grinning when the gloss from his lips left a kiss mark on his soulmate. “Welcome to _God’s Menu_ , Christopher Bang. I’m your host, Felix Lee; I hope we can have some fun tonight.”

Chan laughed, biting his lip and looking away. Felix’s heart began to race as he realized the blush that was colouring his soulmate’s cheeks; love looked good on him. “Do you remember when you first started working at _Star Shine_ , how I said one day I’d get an appointment with you?” Chan asked, his dual coloured eyes sparkling with excitement.

The younger were-cat blinked, and a warm smile came to his lips. Those days they spent together in Chan’s small apartment simultaneously felt like a lifetime ago but also that it was just yesterday. “Yeah, you said you wanted to have an appointment with the _Felix_ type,” Felix replied, blushing.

“I don’t know if I ever told you this,” Chan started, looking down at their hands. “But I can very clearly remember when it was that I fell in love with you.”

Felix was reeling; he was supposed to be the one in charge of this appointment. He had been prepping for it all day, been practicing with Hyunjin and the others, getting his confidence up and planning for it for weeks. And in a moment, Chan had flipped it and had him on his back, head over heels in love. “Wait, you can?” he asked, dazed.

Chan nodded, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of Felix’s smaller hands. “We were sitting in that shoebox apartment of ours, and you’d just insisted on going in with me on opening _Chan’s Room_. You’d picked up my notebook, reading the proposal I was going to take to Jin-hyung… your eyebrows bunched together, and your nose crinkled. That was the moment… that was the moment I knew I was gone for you.” He laughed, turning bring red and hanging his head as he squeezed Felix’s hands. “Then you said I gave off _boyfriend vibes_ and I nearly lost it.”

Heat rushed to Felix’s cheeks at the memory; he remembered it well and almost for the exact same reason. They’d been talking about Chan opening a single-host bar, and in his attempt to hype up someone who had so quickly become so important to him, Felix blurted out that he felt that Chan had boyfriend vibes, that it’d help his customers become endeared to him. “I meant it,” he said quietly, shyly. “You had… no, you still have this energy about you that’s so comforting and welcoming, like a really good friend or a significant other that you could share the deepest, darkest secret and you would just… smile that smile of yours and make it feel okay.”

“I don’t know how you believed in me so much,” Chan admitted, raising his head to catch Felix’s gaze. “But I wouldn’t have made it this far without you.”

Christopher Bang was the sweetest man on the planet and Felix couldn’t handle how earnest and sincere he was. It was almost worse than if he had been a walking sex siren, as at least then Felix could believe it was mainly an act, but no, Chan’s sincerity and genuine sweetness was a deadly combination with his dimples and dual-coloured eyes that held the stars in them.

“I couldn’t have been as strong as I was without you either,” Felix countered, swallowing thickly as he squeezed Chan’s hands. “But … it’s funny, you know? I can remember when … when I realized I loved you too. It was… um, it was when we’d gone to the bar, after it was furnished. You made that drink… _Haven_ , and I just… when I looked at you, that was it. I was in it.” He bit his lip and looked down shyly. “When I told you that you make people wanna talk to you, and I admitted… that included me, I … I was so close to confessing it.”

Chan blinked, surprised. “You were?”

Felix nodded. “Yeah, but … it felt like, it wasn’t the right time? It was so weird. I thought I could do it, but every time the chance came, something would fuck it right up.” He groaned and hung his head, laughing. “When we kissed for the first time… after Jeonginie woke up, I … I was so happy. I didn’t think you’d make the first move.”

“I don’t know that it was me!” Chan exclaimed, laughing himself. “It just happened but I’m so glad it did. And … I know I’ve apologized but I need to again. I’m sorry for what happened in the new year … with the moving out thing.”

“Channie!” Felix chastised. “How much longer are you going to beat yourself up about that? If I can’t, you can’t.” He poked Chan in the cheek.

“I’m still sorry,” Chan said earnestly.

“And I still say you’re fine,” Felix promised. “Now, let me spoil you rotten.”

Chan blinked and laughed. “Well, when you put it like that…”

~ * ~

It was hours later before Chan and Felix were able to escape to the upstairs suite, and by that point, whatever plans Felix had for when they finally had time alone was long gone. Chan smiled and squeezed his soulmate’s hand, an anxious, eager smile on his lips. “I have a surprise for you,” Chan said, tugging Felix over to the living room area that was situated across from the studio setup. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Felix.”

There, arranged like an amateur magazine spread was a certifiable mountain of snacks from Australia - at a glance, Felix could spot TimTams, Twisties, Cheezels, Shapes - and in the middle on a cake stand, a Lamington cake. It looked a little lopsided and a bit oddly decorated with the coconut shavings, a tell-tale sign that it was homemade. Surprised and touched, Felix gasped and turned to Chan, who smiled at him shyly. “Did you make this?!” Felix asked, shocked.

“I did,” Chan admitted, rubbing his neck with his free hand. “I know it looks a little fucked up, but believe me when I tell you that the test ones I made with Jeongin and Hyunjin looked a lot worse. Do you like it? You don’t have to lie and say you do if you don’t, I know it looks crummy—”

Felix moved so fast to kiss his boyfriend that he nearly missed Chan’s mouth on the first pass. “I love it because _you made it_ ,” he whispered, so far into the deep end with how much he loved this pure-hearted, goofy, hardworking man who loved with his whole being. “Come on, come on … let’s change and go to town on this stuff! Where did you even find Cheezels and Twisties?!”

“The internet is a surprisingly useful tool,” Chan replied, smiling as he hugged Felix from behind, his chin resting on the Lynx’s shoulder. “There’s something for you to unwrap, too.”

“Is it you?” Felix asked cheekily.

Chan huffed out a laugh and pressed his face against Felix’s neck. “N-No, it’s not … i-it’s not me,” he stammered, and Felix couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him; Chan buffering was his favourite thing in the world. Well, Chan in general was. “Here.” He pulled away from Felix’s back, and held up a garishly wrapped present that was a bit hefty to Felix’s touch.

Curious and thrilled beyond belief that Chan had gone to such lengths for their Valentine’s date, Felix wasted little time in ripping open the paper. His eyes widened when he caught sight of the stylistic DBZ logo, and he gasped loudly, the sound increasing in volume once Felix realized that it was the entire box set. “Mate! I used to _love this show!_ ” he exclaimed. “How did you know?”

“You talk about it a lot,” Chan admitted, kissing his cheek. “There’s also a condensed version that came out recently; the reviews said they cut out a lot of filler, whatever that means.”

Felix’s eyes widened and he let out an excited yell, showering Chan’s face with kisses. “Come on, let’s change, let’s change!”

Swept away on Felix’s enthusiasm, Chan was easily pulled along and soon the pair were sitting on the couch, blanket strewn across both their laps and the door leading to the main floor locked. Chan had to have noticed Felix locking the door that led to the stairs and the main floor, but he didn’t say anything, instead making himself comfortable on the couch. Barefaced and in the comfiest clothes he owned, Felix thought this was the best version of Chan - unapologetically himself.

Felix made himself comfortable next to his boyfriend, snuggling in nice and close as Chan queued up the first disc. He plucked up the two bags of Twisties, thrilled to see that Chan had gotten both chicken and cheese flavours. “Have you ever had these before?”

“No, I wasn’t allowed,” Chan replied, curiously sniffing at one of the bags and popped one of the corn chips into his mouth. “Which was this? Cheese?”

Felix gaped at him. “What?! No! Bro, come on. You’ve gotta try both flavours and then when you realize that chicken is superior, we can continue the night.”

Chan laughed, taking a chip from the second bag. “Okay, okay.” He popped one from the chicken flavour bag into his mouth, and munched thoughtfully. “I don’t know, I think I like cheese.”

“We’re breaking up.”

“Wh - Felix!”

“No, this is a deal-breaker,” Felix said firmly, munching almost defiantly from the chicken Twisties bag. “I don’t know how I can trust you. Next you’re going to tell me that you like Pizza flavour over BBQ when it comes to Shapes.”

Chan looked at him oddly. “I know you’re saying words, and individually they’re making sense but altogether, you’ve lost me.”

Felix gasped loudly and snatched both the cheese and chicken bags - the former in Chan’s hands - and replaced them with the two boxes of Shapes crisps. “Look. Here is the greatest debate of our time back in Australia: you either like pizza or you’re on the right side of history and you like BBQ.”

“You feel really strongly about this,” Chan observed, laughing as Felix practically tore the box and plastic bags inside open.

“It’s _important_ ,” Felix stressed, giving Chan a cracker from the BBQ box and one from the Pizza box. “Now, which one?”

Chan was smiling at him fondly and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “The BBQ one does taste better, you’re right,” he said.

Felix pouted at him. “I know you’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“No, I’m serious!” Chan argued, laughing. “Come on, try some of my fucked up Lamington cake and let’s watch some anime guys fight to save the world.” 

With a dramatic sigh, Felix nodded and sectioned off a square for them both, feeding the cake to Chan with his fingers. The Black Cat laughed and returned the favour and Felix’s eyes widened: despite looking a bit goofy, the cake was delicious and he was suddenly struck by how much had not only gone into this, but the entire evening. His chest tightened and his heart threatened to burst; Chan was too good for this world.

“I love it,” Felix whispered, smiling widely at the Black Cat. “You did such a good job, Channie.”

A bright blush coloured Chan’s cheeks and he ducked his head, hiding behind his tattooed hands. “I was so worried that this might be too much,” he confessed, looking so shy and embarrassed as Felix tugged his hands down. “I know I don’t need to make up for that missed Valentine’s, but I wanted to. I think about it all the time, even with last year, that I wanted to do something like this, make some good memories about a place I didn’t have any good memories about.” Even more quieter than his already quiet tone, Chan whispered, “I never wanted to go back until I met you.”

That … was an admission Felix didn’t think he’d ever hear. Chan, for as long as Felix had known him, had been largely ambivalent about Australia. He’d always encourage Felix to talk about his memories, assuring the Lynx that he didn’t mind hearing about it - Felix’s happiness was the most important thing. “You… you’d want to go back?” Felix echoed in disbelief.

Chan nodded, gently kissing Felix’s fingers. “I want to see it how you do,” he confessed. “When you talk about Sydney, it sounds wonderful. I don’t have those memories of Australia, but I … I want to make them with you.”

How in the hell was a man like Bang Chan real?

Almost reverently, Felix pulled Chan into a kiss, one that the older man was all-too-happy to return. “We can … we can watch the rest of this later,” Felix breathed, delirious and drunk off the taste of Chan on his lips. “I wanna ride you.”

Chan choked on air, his face scarlet red. “Not… not on the couch,” he stammered, his brain clearly working overtime to process the statement.

“Right, Jisung’s got a sixth sense about that sort of thing,” Felix sighed.

“I love Jisung like a brother so please don’t mention him while we’re like this,” Chan said with a little sigh, a smile tugging at his lips. “I know for a fact he’s been making out with Minho up here.”

“Let’s keep them both out of our mouths and put something more fun there,” Felix said devilishly as he turned the TV off, getting up and pulling Chan towards what was essentially _their_ room.

“How can you just _say_ things like that?” Chan whined, easily movable in his embarrassment. Felix laughed, stealing kisses as he set to work getting Chan as naked as possible as _fast_ as possible.

One of the things Felix loved the most about Chan was how much he _loved_ , honestly, fully, completely. Almost to the detriment of everything else, if Chan loved something, it came out in everything he did. Felix had a plan to let Chan lead this, but after the evening they’d just had, the Lynx had a better idea - he’d be the one taking care of Chan that night. “Lie back?” he asked softly.

Embarrassed but obedient, Chan did as bid, bracing himself up against the pillows on the bed. He watched with wide eyes and a drying mouth as Felix stripped out of the rest of his clothes and unabashedly pick up what he needed from the bedside table. A rush of adrenaline surged through Felix as Chan’s eyes settled on his new tattoo - a complementary piece to Chan’s tattoo on his forearm that was inspired by Felix - a nest of Marigolds and Cosmos flowers encircling a hand of playing cards that said ‘Just Enjoy~’ in beautiful script along with the date they met. It was in the empty bar that Chan won from Yang Jaehwa in a poker game that Felix first met Chan, and he wanted to immortalize it on himself. He wanted that further connection with his soulmate and it was all the reason he needed to take the plunge.

“When did you get this?” Chan breathed, tugging Felix into his lap, fingers running almost reverently along the tattoo. “How did I not know you got this?”

Felix bit his lip as Chan pressed his lips to the tattoo, still ticklish. “Couple days ago,” Felix admitted. “I’d been working with Hoseok-hyung about it for a while, and I was supposed to have it done next month since he’s so booked up, but he had an opening so I took it.”

“It’s beautiful,” Chan said, his voice breathless. “ _You’re_ beautiful, Felix…” He reached for the bottle of lube, snapping it open with a flick of his thumb. “Can I…?”

“Yes,” Felix whined against Chan’s neck, relieved that Chan not only loved the tattoo, but was just as moved by it as Felix was getting it. He bit his lip as a higher-pitched whine left his lips as Chan started to work him open, long, tattooed fingers skillfully stretching him. Heat rushed to Felix’s cheeks as he pulled away to look at his soulmate, seeing the utter love and desire in Chan’s eyes. “S-Stop looking at me like that…”

“Like what?” Chan asked lowly, his fingers never once stopping in their ministrations. “Like you’re everything to me? No can do.”

Another whine left Felix, and he pressed back into Chan’s fingers. “And you talk … and you talk about _me_ just saying shit like that…”

Chan chuckled, kissing Felix’s reddening left ear, particular attention being paid to his soulmate earring. “You bring it out of me, I guess,” he admitted. “…Shit, Felix, you really have no idea how beautiful you look like this…”

“Mm, tell me,” Felix challenged, his skin flushed and voice rough with desire. A choked moan escaped him as Chan’s fingers easily found his prostate, his skillful touch nearly bringing the Lynx to climax right out the gate. “Wanna… wanna hear you say it.”

The Black Cat pressed several hot kisses to his soulmate’s neck, the kisses turning biting when they reached below the collarbone. “First things first… you ready?” Chan asked, dual-coloured eyes flicking up to his boyfriend.

“Yeah, want you,” Felix confirmed, licking his lips as he dove down for another kiss. Chan happily returned it, breaking away only to grab the sealed condom Felix tossed onto the bed. The tear of the wrapper was quite possibly the best sound he’d ever heard… right next to Chan coming undone.

Once he was ready, Chan rested his large hands on Felix’s slender waist. “Come take what you want, Felix,” he whispered, voice thick.

Surprised that Chan remembered that Felix wanted to ride him, a surge of confidence pulsed through Felix’s veins and he nodded; he wasn’t going to let this chance pass. Not that he wouldn’t get to do this again, but… he wanted to do this _now_. Felix was careful as he got to his knees, pressing tight to Chan’s chest as he got himself into the right position. He had to keep his focus on making sure he didn’t go too fast, but Felix couldn’t help himself from sneaking a glance at Chan.

It was a mistake.

Chan looked as if his dream was coming true in real time. The waves of trust, love, desire and _comfort_ rolling off the Black Cat hit Felix like a tidal wave, wrapping him up like a warm blanket. “Are you okay, Felix?” he asked hoarsely.

God, he sounded so fucked out and they hadn’t even done much yet.

Instead of responding, Felix turned back to slowly lowering himself on Chan’s cock, his eyes fluttering shut as the familiar burn coursed through his body. “Y-Yeah,” he confirmed, smiling when he felt Chan’s large hands squeeze his waist. “Feels… feels so good.”

“You feel incredible,” Chan said reverently, staying as still as he could as they adjusted to the sensation. “You _are_ incredible. — don’t rush, okay? We have… we have all night. The Bar’s closed tomorrow…”

Felix whined, the flush on his skin brightening at the praise. He was always weak to it, always wanting to do well and wanting Chan to tell him that he was doing well. The younger were-cat trembled as Chan’s hands caressed his thighs, his touch sure and loving, helping Felix relaxed until he was filled to the hilt. Slowly, experimentally, Felix rolled his hips and let out a shaky moan.

This was going to be a lot more work than he thought.

But there was one thing that Felix wasn’t, and that was a quitter. Soon, he was cognizant enough to put his hands on Chan’s broad shoulders, steadying himself enough to start a pace. It was only then that he realized that Chan had put on music, the dark, sexy melodies coming through nicely from the high quality speakers on his desk. “I-If I hear someone I know, I’m leaving,” Felix threatened, a breathless laugh escaping him.

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” Chan promised, though there was a devilish glint in his eyes. Felix’s brows furrowed in confusion as his pace slowed to allow his already burning thighs some time to rest. It wasn’t until Chan’s lips pressed against his ear and a low rumble begins that Felix realizes that Chan is _rapping along_ to the song which is a sinfully sexy instrumental track. The Black Cat’s hands tightened suddenly on his lover’s hips, and kicked up the pace.

Felix’s eyes rolled back into his head as Chan fucked into him, the pace hard and deep, but slow enough that it was driving him crazy. The added stimulus of Chan’s sexy lower register was a low blow, but there was no way Felix was complaining. “C-Chan…!” Felix moaned, nails digging into the tattooed shoulders of his soulmate, “I-I’m…!”

“Touch yourself, love,” Chan whispered roughly, nothing but love coming through from his empath magic. “I want to see it… I want to see you come.”

He should have been embarrassed by how much that turned him on, how much Chan’s command felt more like a loving request. Felix’s rhythm was shot, and he was off-pace from Chan’s hips but it was enough to get him to his climax - it was always so easy for him to finish when he felt how much _Chan_ was into this, how much he could feel his soulmate. Felix could have sworn that his vision blacked out for a second as one second he’s overwhelmed and the next, he’s resting against Chan’s chest, the Black Cat’s arms tight around him. “Oh _fuck_.”

Chan laughed, pressing a kiss to Felix’s sweaty forehead. “Are you okay?” he asked, his own voice hoarse and fucked out. “I didn’t go too far?”

“Best fuck of my life,” Felix said, shaking his head. “I’m not gonna be able to walk tomorrow… this was a _work out_.”

There was almost nothing sweeter than the sound of Chan laughing, and he captured Felix’s lips in a slow, loving kiss. “Let’s get cleaned up and to sleep, then, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Felix agreed, returning the kiss. He blushed darkly when Chan’s kisses moved from the Lynx’s lips to his arm, his tongue sliding along the new tattoo. “Y-You really like it, huh?”

“I love it,” Chan confirmed. “And I love _you_.”

Blushing wildly, Felix shoved his boyfriend. “You’re such a sap!” He hunched up his shoulders, embarrassed as Chan snuggled him tighter. “But I love you too. And … I wanna go to Australia with you too.”

Chan’s eyes lit up, and he showered his soulmate with kisses. “Let’s do it.”

It was scary, going to a place that that rejected them both, but Felix and Chan had taken the shit hand that life dealt them and come out on top. This was going to be no different.

It was the two of them vs the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, MinSung! 
> 
> I hope you're all doing well! <3 It's been a rough week for everyone.
> 
> Shout out to [Jiminly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jiminly) for helping me out with the Australian snacks and the idea for the DBZ boxset <3


	6. MinSung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minho hated Valentine's Day, or at the least, had bad memories associated with it. Jisung doesn't know what those reasons or memories could be, but he's going to bust his ass to make it a Valentine's Day worth remembering. 
> 
> In his frantic search to make the perfect Valentine's Day, Jisung realizes the answer is a lot simpler than he realized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jisung and Minho were a hinted at side-ship in Part 5, where they both play a major role in the story. 
> 
> This one got away from me but I am not complaining.
> 
> T/W: There's a bit of a heavy discussion about loss at the very end of the chapter. It's nothing graphic but it's about when Minho explains to Jisung why he's so cold around Valentine's Day.

Minho hated Valentine’s Day.

Of this, Jisung was sure, but what he wasn’t sure of was the _why_. Changbin wouldn’t say anything about it, and if he asked everybody else, it was going to get back to Minho and as much of a loudmouth Jisung was, he wasn’t an idiot.

Well, no. He was kind of an idiot. That was part of his charm.

Jisung wasn’t some big proponent of Valentine’s Day or the Capitalist Dream Machine that created and powered it, but he hadn’t ever had a significant other to ‘celebrate’ it with either. Chan brought the idea to them fairly early in January that they’d be doing a Valentine’s Day date if they wanted to, and if not, there were likely others who would just have a dinner together while the others were with their dates. Jisung had asked Minho if he would be open to it, and he clearly remembered how the older were-cat’s entire expression darkened before carefully blanking out and he said sure, if Jisung wanted.

“Are you sure?” Jisung asked, frowning. “You don’t look happy about it.”

Minho shook his head slightly. “If you want to, I don’t mind.”

“I mean there’s two of us,” Jisung replied, gesturing between the two of them. “If you’re not up for it, that’s totally cool, hyung. We can do something else, or nothing!”

The Birman were-cat was silent for a long moment, expression unreadable. “It’s fine.”

Jisung’s eyebrows furrowed together, but before he could say something, Chan called for Minho and Changbin for the daily end-of-night meeting with Hyunjin. He couldn’t get a further answer out of Minho the rest of the night, and even when they returned to the apartment they shared with Seungmin, Minho took his nightly shower and went straight to bed.

“…is something going on with Minho-hyung?” Seungmin asked, looking over at Jisung. “He seemed quiet. Usually he’s loudly complaining that we don’t do anything around the apartment or calling Hyunjin-hyung out of nowhere to scare the crap out of him.”

“He was like this last year, remember?” Jisung replied, rubbing his neck. “He gets weird around Valentine’s Day.”

“…Oh. Do you know why?”

“No… do you?”

Seungmin snorted. “Why would _I_ know that? If you don’t know, then the only other person who would know outside of Changbin-hyung is Chan-hyung.”

Jisung groaned and ruffled his dual-coloured hair, pouting. “I don’t want to seem like an asshole and bug him about it, but if I don’t know, I’m going to put my foot in my mouth at some point and if he was ever mad at me, I would die.”

“You would, I’ve seen him threaten death to the others for less,” Seungmin answered blithely. “You want to make something to eat? I’m starving.”

The Chimera were-cat blinked and nodded. “Yeah, let’s use out the rest of that instant ramen. I think we have two eggs left we can use out before we have to make a grocery run.” He paused. “Should we make something for Minho-hyung?”

Seungmin paused as he picked up one of the pots. “Yeah, he might come back out and want something.” The Maine Coon put the pot down on the stove and dug through their cupboard, before pulling a few items out. “Let’s just add in these leftover noodles and make more.”

“Ah, good idea!” Jisung brightened up; that seemed to be the best option that they had, and he was always glad for Seungmin’s level-headed approach to things. In the middle of their late night dinner preparations - and Seungmin and Jisung having a brilliant duet to _Gangnam Style_ \- when Minho slowly emerged from his (and Jisung’s) room.

Seungmin stopped suddenly and elbowed Jisung in the side to get him out of the dance loop he was currently stuck in. “Ah, sorry, hyung. Did we wake you up?”

Minho was watching Jisung with a fond expression on his face, and shook his head. “No, I was getting hungry. I didn’t realize that I had front row seats to a PSY tribute show, though.”

“Exclusive show, just for you!” Jisung winked, pointing his cooking chopsticks at the older were-cat. “Hope you don’t mind, we’re making ramen.”

“Better be careful or you’re making _burnt_ ramen,” Minho pointed out, coming over to peer over Jisung’s shoulder.

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “I don’t think you can burn ramen.”

Minho wrapped his arms around Jisung’s waist, resting his chin on the Chimera’s right shoulder as the younger were-cat began to crack the two remaining eggs they had. His steely blue eyes widened as one of the eggs had a double yolk, bubbling nicely beside the single yolk from the other egg. “Ah, that’s lucky; Mom would say a double yolk meant that the rest of the month would have good fortune.”

It was such an out of character thing for Minho to talk about himself, let alone his past that Jisung almost thought he dreamt it up. Surprisingly, his reaction wasn’t to drop the cooking chopsticks he was using to gently nudge the eggs around, instead smiling and keeping on track. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that, but it sounds nice,” Jisung said, a smile puffing up his cheeks. “We could use some good fortune.”

Seungmin smiled. “Maybe that comes in the form of some time off. I know Channie-hyung and Yongbok-hyung were talking about possibly closing for a week soon.”

“Oh, that sounds really nice,” Jisung said dreamily. “What would you do with a week off, Minho-hyung?”

The Birman hummed thoughtfully, his arms tightening around Jisung’s waist. “I don’t know… whatever you wanted to do.”

Jisung laughed. “I just want to sleep! I don’t know if that’s something you’d be interested in.”

Minho smirked. “Well, sleeping with you isn’t bad either.”

There was a sudden crack as Seungmin opened a small can of beer. “Sorry, being a third wheel sober is the worst thing,” he muttered, taking a deep gulp as he turned the ramen in the large pot.

“What happened to the cute Seungminnie we met almost three years ago?” Jisung lamented, raising his chopsticks high to the sky. “He was so cute and shy and now he’s drinking beer in front of his cousin and his cousin’s boyfriend like he owns the place…”

Seungmin snorted. “You’re not my cousin.”

“We’re _family_ ,” Jisung pointed out, poking Seungmin’s cheek with the butt end of his chopstick. He briefly felt Minho’s arms tighten around him at that, and he turned slightly to look at the older were-cat with concern. Minho merely shook his head and gave a small smile, burying his face against Jisung’s dual coloured hair.

He waited until dinner was finished and they’d retired to their rooms for the night before trying to speak to Minho again. “You look like you’re going to tell me where you need to hide a body,” Minho joked faintly as he fussed with the comforter.

“No, I know you’d help,” Jisung replied absently, rubbing his neck. Minho huffed out a laugh at that and abandoned the comforter, looking over at his boyfriend expectantly. “Are you sure you’re okay with doing something on Valentine’s Day? It doesn’t seem like it’s… got any good memories for you. I don’t want you to think I’m forcing you or anything. I don’t really care about it either.”

Jisung knew he was speaking in a rush when Minho quietly pushed himself off the bed and came over, taking the Chimera’s hands in his. “It’s fine,” Minho repeated, squeezing Jisung’s hands gently. “It’s not something I can change.”

The younger man’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “The host date thing? We can tell Chan-hyung we’re just having dinner with the others, it’s fine.”

“No,” the Birman replied, pressing a kiss to Jisung’s forehead. “The date. I can’t change what happened on it. I should be past it by now.”

“Min…”

“Come on, let’s go to bed. You’re whiny in the morning if you don’t get a normal 8 hours and none of us want to deal with that.”

“ _Hey_.”

~ * ~

“Sannie’s bringing his soulmate to meet everyone?!” Jisung exclaimed, shooting up from his seat at the table, practically screaming at the phone that was sitting innocently, on speaker mode.

Chan’s laugh came through crystal clear despite the scratchy quality of the phone’s speaker. “Yes, he called me today saying he realized he never fully introduced Wooyoung to all of us. I know you’re all not scheduled to come until 17:00, but can you come at 16:00? I think it’d be good for everyone to see them.”

“Yeah, absolutely! There’s no way I’m missing giving _the talk_ to Sannie’s soulmate!” Jisung said firmly, nodding once.

Seungmin leaned forward, pale eyes bright with excitement. “He’s really bringing Wooyoung? I only saw him briefly when they came for his birthday dinner. Hyunjin-hyung’s going to be super excited.”

Minho chuckled. “It’ll be fun to press this guy a bit. I heard he was a jeweller’s kid.”

“A jeweller’s kid?” Jisung echoed, tilting his head.

“Yeah, his parents own JTY,” Minho replied, looking down at his fingernails. “It’s a pretty successful chain of jewellery stores in the city.”

Seungmin and Jisung shared a long look with each other, then turned to the Birman. “How do you know that?” they asked, alongside Chan.

Flicking his blue-eyed gaze up from the far-more-interesting task of cleaning his fingernails, Minho shrugged. “Changbin and I looked into him after his birthday dinner last year.”

“Minho!” Chan exclaimed. “You did a background check on San’s soulmate?”

“Just asked around,” Minho replied. “You can never be too sure with people.”

Jisung blinked slowly and shared another look with Seungmin. “Remind me never to piss you off,” he said after a while. “Hyung, we’ll be there with bells on!” he said to Chan.

Chan laughed again, relieved for the pivot to something less… concerning. “Of course. And be nice, San’s going to be nervous about this. If you’re going to tease Wooyoung, don’t go too far. I’m talking to you, Minho.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“We both know that’s a lie.”

Jisung was practically vibrating with excitement as he got ready to go into the Bar, and he could feel Minho’s eyes on him as the three of them headed out to _God’s Menu_. “I’ve known Sannie since we were kids,” Jisung said, knowing the silent question in Minho’s gaze, “and as long as I’ve known him, he’s been terrified to meet his soulmate.”

“How come?” Seungmin asked curiously. “I thought he’d be happy to find someone.”

The Chimera sucked on his teeth. “Like, yeah, and also no. It’s like, what does soulmate even mean? Do you get that instant connection? Or is it something that needs to be protected and cultivated like anything else? What makes one pair a soulmate and another pair not? We’d talk about it a lot,” he started, tilting his head from side to side. “San was worried he’d be a burden to his soulmate. Not just the Black Cat thing but… he was terrified that there was nothing to him other than a pretty face.”

“That his soulmate would get sick of him?” Seungmin prompted, frowning.

“Yeah,” Jisung confirmed. “Or be upset that they got stuck with a stray Black Cat who could cast Hexes. It’s not really a sparkling resume, you know? But I didn’t think his soulmate was gonna act that way.”

“What did you think his soulmate would be like?” Minho asked, surprising both Seungmin and Jisung by speaking up.

Jisung hummed. “I don’t know what I thought they’d be like as a person, but I knew that they’d see that San’s a really sweet, caring guy underneath all the noise and flirty behaviour. He’s shy and insecure. A soulmate… I wanted his soulmate to be someone who would protect that. Who’d do crazy shit with him but also keep his heart safe. That’s all I wanted for him.”

Minho smiled faintly. “You’re a real romantic, Han Jisung.”

The Chimera winked and blew a kiss to the Birman were-cat. In truth, he just wanted to see how San was with Wooyoung; they could say whatever they wanted but you couldn’t really fake how you acted with someone when you thought someone wasn’t looking. He just hoped Wooyoung was a good person. When they reached _God’s Menu_ and got ready, Jisung hung back at first when the doors opened and Chan escorted Wooyoung and San inside.

He watched curiously from his perch further in the Bar as San and Wooyoung spoke quietly, and he saw the telltale signs of San’s anxiousness: shifting on his feet, glancing all over the place, the way he’d fiddle with his rings or earrings. To his credit, Wooyoung pushed aside his own nervousness and pressed a kiss to San’s fingers, assuring him it’d be fine.

That was all Jisung needed to see.

“Choi San!” Hyunjin exclaimed, right on cue, as he stomped over towards San. “You mangy fur ball! You finally have the guts to show your face around here again? I have to hear from Chan-hyung that you slunk back? You couldn’t even text me?”

San laughed and hugged Hyunjin with one arm, his other hand still holding onto Wooyoung’s. “Sorry, Hyunjin. For some reason, my soulmate wanted to meet you losers.”

That was his cue.

“So _you’re_ the soulmate,” he said, having slunk off from the table to be behind Wooyoung. He grinned and jabbed his chest with his thumb. “Well _I’m_ Han Jisung; the childhood best friend so you don’t gotta worry about passing anybody else’s vibe check but mine, got it?”

San laughed again, squeezing Wooyoung’s hand as Felix popped up from the back area with Chan. “You can’t threaten Sannie’s soulmate without me!” He whined.

“None of you should be threatening anyone, _Felix_ ,” Chan pointed out, sighing. “San brought his soulmate here to meet all of you, not to face an inquisition.”

Minho, as quick and as silent as always, was on Wooyoung’s side and pressed into his personal space just enough that the Bengal were-cat realized someone else was there and he jumped. Jisung pressed a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh; Minho liked to pretend that he was closed off and not interested in forging bonds with the others at the Host Bar, but it was clear that he wanted to ensure that Wooyoung was a good person that was going to take care of San.

“What’s the fun in getting to meet ‘The Soulmate’ if we don’t get to press him a little bit? We’re all strays here, so someone’s got to give him the talk. I’m sure Sannie’s gotten it from this guy’s parents,” Minho was saying, arms folded and a smirk on his lips. Jisung really shouldn’t have found it as hot as he did.

It must have looked odd, that Jisung was staying to the background while the others teased San and interrogated Wooyoung. But he liked to watch how people interacted, and there was a lot he learned from watching Wooyoung and San interact not only with each other but the other Hosts. There was something hanging over them that they were still trying to push through, but they were doing so hand-in-hand, together.

“Were you not expecting me to realize that you and Wooyoung had matching soulmate earrings?” Hyunjin was saying, snorting.

Jisung smirked and looked over at Felix. “I told you it was obvious that you and hyung had matching soulmate earrings.”

Felix huffed and folded his arms. “Shut up! No one _explains_ to you what these earrings mean! How was I supposed to know?”

“In my defence, I tried to tell Felix a thousand times,” San said, scratching the side of his nose. “—Oh yeah, when did you two finally get together? I wanna know who won the bet.”

“ _Won the bet?_ ” Felix exclaimed, affronted. “You were betting on us?!”

Hyunjin gently pat Felix’s shoulder. “We were all dying from the mutual pining, you can’t blame us.”

Wooyoung turned to San. “You were betting on when they’d get together?” he asked, pointing at Chan and Felix with a grin on his lips.

“You know how everyone was tired of Seonghwa-hyung and Hongjoong-hyung dancing around each other? It was like that with these two,” San replied, also gesturing at Chan and Felix. “All we’d hear is _Chan-hyung is so nice, I just wanna kiss him_ or _Felix is so cute, don’t you think?_ and —ow!” San pouted as Chan pinched him in the side.

Jisung laughed. “You had to know that was coming, man.”

The rest of the meeting with Wooyoung was a total trashcan fire, but in the best way. As much as Minho and the others were suspicious of Wooyoung, he won them over during the course of his visit. It was cut a bit short due to preparation for the dinner service and their money maker - the host bar opening - but Jisung blinked in intense confusion when Wooyoung gently tugged on his sleeve, pulling him to the side while Chan and San were talking about the younger Black Cat’s new schedule.

“Jisung-ssi, I wanted to talk to you privately,” Wooyoung started, nervous. “Before we have to go, and I don’t get this chance again…”

“Ahh, you don’t have to be so formal with me,” Jisung said, waving his hand. “But what’s up?”

Wooyoung smiled at that, looking relieved. “San… we’re still getting to know each other, but I know that he really regards you highly and I want… I want to get to know you. Are you free sometime for lunch? My treat.”

“Oh? Wanting some dirt on the boyfriend?” Jisung teased, winking salaciously. He was stalling, thrown off by the sincerity and sweetness that was Wooyoung’s invitation. Jisung quickly pulled out his phone and checked his schedule - not much wiggle room but there were a few things he could put off if it meant talking with his oldest friend’s soulmate. “I’m usually free in the mornings save for these days, where I’m waitstaff for the lunch rush…”

Wooyoung leaned over, curious eyes bright. “Oh, that works. My class got cancelled so we can get lunch. I know a great place nearby that’s pretty good for the price.”

“You sure you don’t want Sannie to be there? I don’t mind,” Jisung said with a smile.

“No, it’s okay. But one of my friends might want to come, he’s a bit protective,” Wooyoung said, rubbing his neck with a small smile. “So if there’s someone you want to bring, that’s fine.”

Jisung hummed softly. “I’ll let you know, but it’d probably be either Hyunjin or Changbin.” With the were-cat trafficking ring still sniffing around _God’s Menu_ , it had become common procedure for them to bring either Minho or Changbin, or stay in pairs or even trios when going out. It was annoying, but the alternative was so much worse. With how Minho had been feeling lately with Valentine’s Day coming up, Jisung figured it might be a safer bet to bring Changbin.

San raised an eyebrow as he came over. “What’s going on over here?”

“I’m stealing your soulmate,” Jisung replied proudly. “Gonna gossip about you and tell him all sorts of embarrassing stories.”

San blanched. “Ji!”

“I’m just kidding! We’re just getting lunch,” Jisung promised. “You darling boyfriend wants to meet your childhood best friend. Isn’t it the most adorable shit?”

Relief washed over the Black Cat’s face, and he smiled warmly, pressing a kiss to Wooyoung’s temple. “Yeah, that is. Don’t have too much fun without me.”

“We will,” Wooyoung said with a shit-eating grin, yelping when San pouted and assailed him with a wave of tickling fingers. His high-pitched laughter/cackle rang through the bar, and San quickly ended his punishment, snuggling his soulmate close and laughing.

“Ugh, y’all giving me cavities,” Jisung faux-complained, but the smile on his lips was hard to suppress; Wooyoung was exactly the foil that San needed.

~ * ~

Changbin grumbled under his breath as he ducked his head underneath his wrapped scarf, staring out blearily into the grey sky as he and Jisung stepped off the subway. “I hate winter,” he muttered. “Fall is cool. Literally and figuratively. Winter? Fuck winter.”

“Really? Winter’s pretty awesome,” Jisung replied, smiling as he caught a snowflake on tongue. “Bugs are dead, snowball fights, sledding, skating, crisp air, Christmas! Bam.” He grinned and nudged Changbin. “Plus you get to drink hot chocolate and do hot pot and chunky soup and stuff.”

The Bobtail raised an eyebrow. “How did you do all that stuff as a stray?”

Jisung grinned at him. “San and I were really creative when it came to getting things done. Did I ever tell you about the time we tricked the Seoul Shilla Hotel that we were the children of the US Ambassador to South Korea’s twin sons? Shit. We lived like Kings for a day before they realized that we were full of shit. By the time they caught on, we bounced.”

“How the hell did you two manage _that?_ ” Changbin asked, eyes wide.

The Chimera laughed, his dual-coloured eyes bright in the early afternoon sun. “Honestly it was a lot of luck; we came in while they were in a mass state of confusion because the actual ambassador’s flight was delayed and his kids were stranded here so we just pretended we were them and they didn’t ask for any confirmation or anything.”

“You’re so fucking lucky,” Changbin said, shaking his head in disbelief. “So where are we meeting San’s boyfriend?”

“Should be over here,” Jisung said, looking down at the location pin that Wooyoung texted him. “Thanks for coming along, Binnie.”

“All good,” Changbin said, following Jisung into the restaurant. “Surprised you didn’t ask Min.”

Jisung cast a glance sidelong to his friend. “He’s been a bit distant lately, figured he’s going through some stuff so I thought I’d give him some space. He gets pretty cold around this time of year, I didn’t want to bug him.”

Changbin paused with his hand on the door. “Yeah, forcing the issue won’t work with Min; he’ll just dig his feet in more. He’ll tell you when he’s ready. — in ya go.”

He gestured for Jisung to go ahead, and cast a quick glance behind them and around the back of the door before following the Chimera further into the restaurant. It was pretty easy to figure out where Wooyoung was, the Bengal cat stood out with his good looks and high pitched laugh. Sitting beside him was a raven-haired young man with equally as handsome features and a piercing stare. Wooyoung was dressed brightly in fashionable colours for the season, and his friend was dressed entirely in black with a turtle neck and silver jewellery.

“Ah, Jisung-ssi!” Wooyoung greeted, getting up quickly. “And Changbin-ssi! It’s nice to see you two again.”

Changbin gave the Bengal a lopsided smile and a slight bow. “You don’t have to worry about honourifics with us; we don’t really care about ‘em. Don’t know what about me or Ji requires that level of formality.”

“I’d be offended if it wasn’t true,” Jisung replied with a laugh as he sat down with Changbin at Wooyoung’s insistence. “Who’s your friend?”

The raven haired young man inclined his head respectfully. “Kang Yeosang; I’ve known Wooyoung since we were kids. Figured it would be fair if I was here while he dragged San’s childhood friend out here.” He looked over at Changbin. “Are you also…?”

Changbin shook his head slightly. “A friend, but not of the childhood best friend variety. There’s… this were-cat trafficking ring that’s been up in our business and we’ve gotten into scraps with over the years. We tend to run in pairs or me or Min will escort the others around just to be safe.”

Wooyoung frowned, looking down at his hands. “Like what happened to Seonghwa-hyung.” He looked over at Yeosang. “Did they ever find who was in charge of that auction?”

Yeosang nodded. “Yuna found them; they’re not going to be stupid enough to try that again. Or if they are… well, it won’t be pretty.” He looked over and smiled at Changbin and Jisung. “Sorry. Do you mind keeping this to yourselves? Seonghwa-hyung doesn’t want anybody knowing about what happened to him.”

Jisung blinked and nodded quickly. “Our lips are sealed.”

“That explains a lot,” Changbin murmured, leaning back in his seat. “I knew he was antsy about walking back alone so Lix and I would always walk with him but that makes a lot of sense. But yeah, Ji and I will keep our mouths shut.”

Yeosang nodded again, a small smile on his lips. “Thank you.” He looked over at Jisung. “Wooyoung was saying you knew San since he was a kid?”

“We grew up in the same orphanage,” Jisung confirmed. “Once we aged out, we lived together on the streets, doing all sorts of stuff to try and survive. We’d separate for a bit and try different things, but sooner or later we’d drift back together and keep hustling. San was the one that brought me in to meet Chan-hyung.”

Nodding slowly as he pushed the menus towards Jisung and Changbin, his bright eyes flicked up to catch their gazes. “That was… the Host Bar battle with _Star Shine_ , right? He said he put up rescuing Hyunjin and Felix if you guys won?”

Jisung nodded. “I was brought in after the deal was made, but Chan-hyung said he didn’t hesitate to put that up as _Chan’s Room_ ’s reward and I believe him. Sannie’s always gone the extra mile for his friends; even though he and Hyunjin were rivals and he only knew Felix from what Chan-hyung told him, he didn’t hesitate to try and help them.”

“What are you really worried about?” Changbin asked, cutting off Wooyoung’s soft sound of acknowledgment. “This isn’t really about getting to know Ji and I, is it?”

Wooyoung started slightly and he gripped the glass in his hands a bit tighter at the blunt question. “It is,” he insisted. “With San, I feel like there’s… the San he puts out for everyone to know, and the real San. I want to know both … and you guys … he considers you part of his family. Why wouldn’t I want to get to know people he regards so highly? And… I’m sure you guys wanna know who I am.”

“You have to be honest with them,” Yeosang said from beside him, handing off the menus to the waitress, evidently having ordered their meals for them.

The Bengal frowned at him. “They’re going to hate me.”

Yeosang raised an eyebrow. “Why? What part of what happened was your fault?” He shook his head. “If you’re going to do this, Wooyoung, you can’t half-ass it. How you and San met is not going to change.” More gently, and with a hand placed over his friend’s, Yeosang’s voice was soft. “You’re stronger than you think.”

Jisung and Changbin shared a long look before they both turned back to Yeosang and Wooyoung. “He … said he met you at your University?” Jisung started slowly, deciding he should be the one to bite the bullet.

“I guess it should all be out in the open,” Wooyoung mumbled, fiddling with the straw in his glass of water. “…my ex contracted San through one of his hyungs to cast a Hex on me. She told them she thought I was cheating on her and the hex would make me tell the truth.”

Jisung stared at him. “Are you serious?”

Changbin choked on his water and shook his head. “What the fuck? That’s messed up.”

With Yeosang’s hand gently but firmly holding his, Wooyoung continued, his gaze pinned to his glass of water. “San said… his Hoseok-hyung thought it was shady, so he asked San to look into whether or not they were telling the truth about me cheating. When he came to campus to do that, that’s when I met him.”

“Fair enough on why you wouldn’t want to tell us,” Changbin said, frowning. “You all right? That’s not an easy thing to find out.”

Wooyoung smiled faintly. “I’m not great, but I’m getting there. He followed me around for an entire semester, into the summer and we’d… we’d gotten really close. San, he … he said he told his hyung to tell my ex that the job was done, so they’d try and pull off whatever fool plan they had and… I’d find out myself what their real colours were. He said he … didn’t want to tell me himself because it’d make things worse.” He huffed a little in disbelief. “Like we didn’t already fuck it up ourselves. I guess I just want to... know everything. But it takes time. I need to remember that.”

“That sounds like San,” Jisung said quietly. “Even if it meant fate kicked him in the face, he’d do the right thing.”

“I’m still not hearing why we would hate you,” Changbin said with a small smile.

Yeosang smiled a little and lightly poked Wooyoung in the forehead, much to the Bengal’s slight whine of embarrassment. “He seems to think that he should’ve had some kind of clairvoyant ability to see all of this ahead of time.”

Changbin shook his head. “Unless you’re like Miss. Raven there’s no way you’d have known, Wooyoung,” he agreed. “Sounds like San’s been beating himself up about this too so the two of you have done enough penance for one lifetime.”

A small smilecame to Wooyoung’s lips, a genuine one, and he nodded gratefully. “I just wish… I’d been able to see what was going on from the start so I could’ve… I don’t know, saved us all this grief?”

“Sure, but then you wouldn’t have the foundation you have now,” Jisung pointed out, glancing over as the waitress brought over the food that Yeosang ordered without telling them. “You’re the person you need to be now to be with him, and vice versa. Can’t change the past, but you can change the present and future, y’know? The past shapes us so we can face forward.”

Changbin blinked and smirked as he popped a piece from the appetizer into his mouth. “Since when did you get to be so wise, Han Jisung?”

“I have my moments, thank you very much _Seo Changbin_ ,” Jisung retorted with a huff. “I’m _multi-faceted_.” He stuck out his tongue before looking back at Wooyoung. “You okay with Black Cats and all that? I know some people are skeeved out about it. Your parents cool with it?”

Wooyoung gave a small smile. “Yeah, I’m more than okay with the fact he’s a Black Cat. Yeosang’s sister is one and I’ve grown up around them; I’m sure there are some less than good ones, but I know there are good Black Cats, too. San’s one of them. As for my parents…”

“They spoke to my sister about it,” Yeosang finished, idly adjusting the collar of his turtleneck. “Mr. and Mrs. Jung trust her opinion and she vouched for San.”

Changbin blinked. “Your sister met San?” He supposed it was possible; they didn’t know what San was up to in the large span of time they hadn’t seen him.

Wooyoung nodded. “She said she knew him well enough to vouch for his character. It was more than enough for my parents to give him a chance. Usually they’d have made him go through months of background checks and interviews… like they did with my ex.”

“I think they suspected your ex,” Changbin suggested. “But man, if they took your friend’s sister word as proof enough, I wonder what kind of person your sister is.”

Yeosang smiled, and Jisung felt he’d seen it before; something was niggling at the back of his brain. “Whatever the reason, it worked,” Jisung pointed out. “Now these two lovebirds are on the right track to be disgustingly cute for Valentine’s Day and beyond.”

Wooyoung laughed and shook his head. “Maybe you can help me out, then. I’ve been trying to get San to tell me anything and all I get are coy answers and ‘whatever you like’. Does he have a favourite colour or something? I want to match my suit to it for the date.”

“Oh, he’s a slut for purple,” Jisung replied, grinning. “Purple and black.”

The Bengal’s eyes widened and he grinned, pulling out his phone. “Perfect. Thank you, Jisung! You’re amazing.”

(Oh yeah, so amazing I can solve everyone else’s problems but my own,) Jisung thought self-deprecatingly.

~ * ~

Jungkook’s eyes widened when he saw Minho and Changbin, a wide, bunny-tooth smile parting his lips further. “Lee Know! Spear!” he exclaimed softly, setting his backpack down and hurrying over to them. “You guys are okay… I was so worried something happened after I had to leave.”

“Hyung…” Minho pushed himself out of his seat, surprising the others when he pulled Jungkook into a tight hug. “We thought someone had taken you out.” 

Jisung felt like he was in a dream. Other than Jisung, he’d never seen Minho hug someone else out of his own free will. Too curious for his own good, Jisung leaned forward and tried to get as much as he could out of the unusual interaction. It was crazy enough that Chan, Minho and Changbin were in a street gang at the same time, but…

… maybe he should talk to Jungkook.

Jungkook shook his head as he hugged Minho back, nuzzling him gently. “Someone did wanna take me out, and with the Old Man dead and Roo gone, I knew my days were numbered. I wish I could’ve taken you guys with me, but the guy that took over…”

Changbin rubbed the back of his neck, surprised when Jungkook suddenly hugged him with his free arm, pulling him in close. “Yeah, he had eyes everywhere; if you wanted to disappear, you couldn’t have done it with him keeping an eye on us.” He shook his head. “We don’t blame you, hyung. I wish we could’ve gone with you, but… hey, we met up eventually.”

Minho frowned. “That asshole was probably the one that wanted to take you out; he was trying to take out anybody that was loyal to the Old Man.” 

(The Old Man?) Jisung thought, frowning. (Oh. Right…. the head of the gang they were in. Seems like he really looked up to Jungkook-ssi.)

The Black Cat sighed and scratched his cheek with a tattooed finger. “Probably; he really didn’t like Roo and I know he hated me because everybody would listen to us and not him. You guys are okay now?”

The Birman were-cat nodded. “We broke away not long after you left and we’ve been keeping to this side of town. A couple years ago, we ran into Chan-hyung and started working here. We run security and host.”

Jungkook raised his eyebrows as a grin came to his lips, causing both Minho and Changbin to look embarrassed. A high-pitched laugh escaped the Black Cat and his nose scrunched up, and he put a tattooed hand over his mouth. “You two!? _Hosting?_ I am _so_ glad I came now. You gotta show me how you two _host_.”

Changbin groaned and shook his head wildly. “No, no way!”

Jisung jumped up to his feet. “You wanna see his first appointment, Jungkook-ssi? We have the video saved!”

Changbin whirled around and glared at him. “You said you deleted it!”

“Yeah, from the main hard drive,” Jisung snorted. “We all saved it separately. I still have Minho-hyung’s first appointment saved too!”

“You _what?_ ” Minho’s hardened stare turned to him, and Jisung danced out of the way of Minho’s quick , hiding behind Jungkook. “You little..!”

Jisung grinned and hung off Jungkook’s shoulder. “Jungkook-ssi, if you want to see these clips, wanna do a favour for me?”

Jungkook grinned back at him. “What makes you think I’d listen to you over my lovely subordinates?”

“I mean, your subordinates don’t have video of them flirting with customers,” Jisung pointed out. “So I have something you want that they don’t have. So, for a brief, beautiful time, we could be partners in crime. What do you think?” He lowered his voice a little bit. “More than that, I wanna surprise Minho for Valentine’s Day but he’s about as talkative about himself like a steel trap on a bear’s paw. Can you help me out, Jungkook-ssi?”

The older Black Cat blinked and a smile came to his lips. “Lee Know’s boyfriend, huh? Yeah, I can help. But let’s make them sweat and think you’re gonna show me the clips. Let’s exchange numbers and we can meet up.”

Jisung’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Jungkook-ssi!”

Finally, he was getting somewhere.

~ * ~

This wasn’t the apartment complex that Jisung had in mind when he came to visit Hoseok, but he supposed it made sense: between Hoseok’s tattoo parlour and Yoongi’s successful rap and photography career, they’d be making pretty decent money. He and Jungkook had kept missing each other, but finally managed to nail down a date and time to meet up, which was after his appointment with Hoseok. Never was Jisung more relieved that he had a working smartphone with a calendar app than he was in this moment.

He pressed the button on the door. “Hi, Hoseok-hyung, it’s Jisung~”

“Ah, come on up, Jisungie!” came Hoseok’s voice through the speaker. “You’re right on time!”

“I don’t know who told you that I’d be late,” Jisung joked. “One Han Jisung, coming right up!” He laughed at his own joke, nervous but trying to treat it like a regular appointment or when he was helping train Jeongin. Hoseok was Chan’s hyung, and someone that the entire bar looked up to; even without meeting him for a while, Jisung felt like he knew Hoseok inside and out with how highly Chan spoke of him.

And he was trusting Jisung to take care of him for a very big event at the Bar.

“Thanks for coming, sorry to change the location on you at the last minute,” Hoseok apologized, stepping back to let Jisung into the apartment. The Chimera looked around curiously, his dual-coloured eyes widening as he looked at the awards that Yoongi had won as AGUST D. “Yoongi got hurt and he’s on strict bedrest.”

Jisung snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. “It’s all good, hyung! BamBam-hyung asked me to bring this to you - it’ll help Yoongi-ssi recover a bit faster but he should stay in bed as long as Miss. Raven told him to.” He dug around in his messenger bag, carefully pulling out a black velvet bag that held a glass bottle and holding it out to the Black Cat. “He said pour the equivalent of one shot glass once per day, best at breakfast and have it with food. It tastes pretty funky.”

Blinking slowly, Hoseok then beamed and took the bottle with a bow. “Thank you, Jisungie! Just let me put this away and we can get started. I’d bring you in to say hi to Yoongi but he’s out like a light.”

As he gave the Black Cat a sheepish smile, Jisung shook his head. “Nah, it’s okay. How’s he doing?”

“Surprisingly well,” Hoseok replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “Miss. Raven really is something else. — I’ll be right back.” He bowed slightly and took the potion into the master bedroom, delaying just a moment as he checked on Yoongi. When he returned, he gave Jisung a bright smile. “Would you like some tea, Jisungie?”

“Sure! Thank you, hyung.” Jisung peeled off his coat and hung it up, taking off his boots and placing them on the rubber mat. He picked up his messenger bag and sat where Hoseok indicated, on the couch. “You still wanna do this? No worries if you have to back out because of Yoongi-ssi’s injury.”

Hoseok hummed as he put the kettle on, taking down two mugs and plopping a teabag into each. “I asked Yoongi, and he still wants to do it so I’m still in.” Once the tea was finished, Hoseok poured it and brought it over to where the young were-cat was sitting.

“I’m surprised you told him about it! Everybody else is keeping it a surprise,” Jisung commented, picking up the mug and blowing gently at the hot liquid. “I mean, the only other person that knows outside of Yoongi-ssi is Minho-hyung because he works there.”

The Black Cat grinned. “And how are you two doing?”

Embarrassed to have the attention on himself, Jisung looked down at the mug, letting the steam coat his face. “Good,” he said finally, cheeks heating up as he smiled shyly. “Going slow. Just kind of… seeing where it goes, you know?” He sighed despite himself, his eyes dimming slightly as he thought about the time he’d had the last two years trying to learn _anything_ about Minho.

“…something bothering you?” Hoseok asked gently, tilting his head slightly. “Something about Valentine’s Day?”

Jisung stared at him. “Do you have mind reading powers?” he asked quietly, dumbfounded.

Hoseok blinked back at him before laughing into his hand. “No, but my secondary Black Magic is like Channie’s only he’s way better at it than I am. I can sense you’re super apprehensive about something coming up and I took a guess.”

In the end, the Chimera were-cat figured he shouldn’t have been surprised; Chan and Hoseok trained together and had similar types of magic. Even without that, Jisung wasn’t being terribly coy about what his problems were. They were getting closer and closer to the 14th and he was running out of time on what to do; his lifeline of talking to Jungkook was about all he had left and to say he was stressed was an understatement.

“Minho-hyung… I think Valentine’s Day has some really bad memories for him,” Jisung answered finally, his voice barely audible as he was seemingly speaking into his mug. “He won’t say anything about it but he gets… really distant and cold around this time of the year. I don’t know if I should go through with this date thing on the 14th, but I also… I wanna make _some_ good memories with him on that day, you know? Yeah, it’s a stupid corporate holiday but it can be fun, too, you know?”

The Black Cat made a soft sound and nodded, taking a sip from his mug himself. “No bad guys on either side,” he agreed. “Has he said anything about not wanting to do the hosting date?”

Jisung shook his head. “I’ve asked him a couple times if he’s still okay with it and he just… shrugs and says it’s fine. It might feel like I’m forcing him into something he doesn’t want to do.”

“It could,” Hoseok admitted. “Oh! Maybe _don’t_ make it a big deal?”

“…I’m not following.” Jisung’s brows furrowed and he looked up at the Black Cat with a curious look on his face. That sounded like the opposite of what he should do.

Hoseok waved his tattooed hand in a vague gesture. “Like, don’t go all out, just make it like an intimate little thing between the two of you. Talk to him, see if you can get him to relax a bit and feel safe with you on a day he typically hates. Baby steps.”

Realization dawned in Jisung’s dual-coloured eyes. “Oh, like start off with something small and stripped down and work my way up to an official fancy date?”

“Yeah, exactly!” Hoseok confirmed with a nod. “Make him feel as comfortable as you can; like he’s really a client and you’re the host making sure he has a good time.”

Jisung laughed a little and took another sip from his mug. “I don’t know how much I need to train you, you’ve really got this thing nailed already, hyung,” he said, impressed. “Though I guess what we can practice is how to work in suggestions to order drinks and food. We’re a business after all.”

Hoseok giggled. “Maybe don’t try and up sell your boyfriend on drinks and food stuffs on your date.”

“I wasn’t going to!” Jisung protested, laughing. “Not after you said that.” He winked in a highly exaggerated manner, causing both himself and Hoseok to collapse into a fit of giggles, both were-cats having to work doubly hard not to spill their tea everywhere.

~ * ~

 **Minho [3:00 p.m.]  
** Are you even planning on coming in today?

 **Jisung [3:01 p.m.]  
** Why, did I get fired?  
Oh god  
I did  
didn’t i  
I’m too young to live on the streets  
too good looking!  
are you looking for a sugar baby?

 **Minho [3:03 p.m.]  
** You’re so lucky you’re cute  
Where are you? I thought you said you were coming back after seeing Hoseok-hyung

 **Jisung [3:05 p.m.]  
** If you must know  
I am making preparations

 **Minho [3:05 p.m.]  
** Preparations?   
Dare I ask what for 

**Jisung [3:06 p.m.]  
** It’s for you so you don’t get to know  
it is what the canadians call  
a surprise

 **Minho [3:08 p.m.]  
** … a surprise? 

**Jisung [3:10 p.m.]  
** Yea  
for u  
which means  
no hints  
other than i think ur hot mr gang man  
mwah!

 **Minho [3:11 p.m.]  
** … you …  
are really lucky you’re cute

If he was thrown off by Hoseok and Yoongi’s apartment being in a nice area, he was thrown the fuck into the stratosphere when he reached Jungkook’s apartment in Gangnam. Jisung double and triple checked the location pin that Jungkook sent, and when he realized that he was exactly where he needed to be, he felt insanely underdressed. The doorman was staring at him like he was buck naked, and honestly, Jisung felt like it.

“Um, I’m here to see Jeon Jungkook,” Jisung explained, holding up his phone to show the doorman his phone.

The doorman snorted and pressed a button beside him. “…Mr. Jeon, there’s a …”

“It’s Han Jisung, Jungkook-ssi!” Jisung exclaimed, further pissing off the doorman. “Please tell him not to sell me; I wouldn’t go for much on the black market.”

Jungkook’s high pitched laugh came through the speaker. “You can let him in; I was expecting him. Thank you, Mr. Jeong.”

The doorman sighed and nodded, releasing the button and gesturing for Jisung to head in. “Mr. Jeon is on floor 26.”

(Jeezus.) Jisung nodded and bowed, quickly heading inside and after checking in with the concierge/security desk, made his way up via the stupidly fancy elevator. He was suitably thrown off by the time he made it to the apartment suite, where Jungkook was waiting with the door open, leaning against the doorframe. “Hi, Jungkook-ssi!” he greeted, trying not to look as shaken as he felt.

“It’s a lot, right? I keep telling Tae that this is way too extravagant, but it has the security that he needs with what he does,” Jungkook explained, smiling as he gestured for Jisung to follow him into the apartment. “I’m still not used to this… don’t think I’ll ever be. Feels like I should be out on the street, hustling for stale bread or something.”

Now that was something Jisung could agree with. “Thank you for seeing me in the middle of all the stuff you’ve got going on,” he said politely, bowing deeply after he’d taken off his boots and coat.

“No worries; it sounded like you were at the end of your rope if you were going to risk getting Lee Know and Spear upset with their first hosting appointment videos,” Jungkook said with a laugh, gesturing for Jisung to follow him to the living room… where a big Bengal Tiger was sleeping on one of the couches.

“Jesus Christ!” Jisung exclaimed, clapping a hand over his mouth. “What’s the … what …”

Jungkook was confused for a moment before realizing something. “Oh! Sorry. This is Taehyung; he’s a Tiger were-cat.”

“I can see that,” Jisung breathed, putting a hand to his chest. “Sorry, it’s just… just a shock to see a giant tiger on the couch. I’m … I’m fine. Sorry.”

Luckily, Jungkook didn’t seem offended, and gently rubbed his back until Jisung had calmed down. He pressed a cup of warm tea into the young man’s hands and helped him sit down on a couch next to the one Taehyung was on. “You said you were trying to figure out how to surprise Lee Know — sorry, Minho, for Valentine’s Day?”

Appreciative and dreading that Jungkook was getting down to brass tacks so quickly, Jisung nodded. “Something bad happened on Valentine’s Day, that much I figured out,” the Chimera started, biting his lip. “—I don’t want to know what it is, I know Minho-hyung will tell me when he’s ready, but what I want … what I’ve been trying to figure out is what… what I can do to make it… to start making it something to … not such a shitty day. Does that make sense?”

The Black Cat listened quietly and nodded, taking a sip from his own mug as his tattooed fingers gently stroked Taehyung’s fur with his free hand. “A smart move,” he said finally. “Lee Know… argh, sorry, Minho. It’s hard to undo years of training to just know his codename.” Jungkook rubbed his neck, setting his tea down on the coffee table. One of Taehyung’s hazel eyes opened and he nudged Jungkook, who paused, sighed, and put a coaster underneath the mug. Pleased, the tiger fell back asleep. “When I met him, he was damn near non-verbal because of what happened. But there was one thing Spear - sorry, Changbin - and I would do with him that helped.”

Jisung blinked and leaned forward. “What was it?”

“We watched movies,” Jungkook answered, smiling a little. “We’d either sneak into movie theatres, or we’d dumpster dive or hit the recycling depot or old DVD electronics stores and watch them together at the hideout. That was probably the happiest I’d ever seen Minho; otherwise, he was like he is now. I think… it reminded him of happier times, when the world didn’t suck and he had people he could love and trust. Sometimes we’d ditch out on work and go for hikes and stuff in the parks or out of the city limits; we got lost a _lot_. I think those were his ideas; it definitely wasn’t Changbin’s.” He laughed.

As he listened, Jisung suddenly realized that there was a theme amongst what Jungkook was suggesting, and what Hoseok had proposed he do for Minho. All of his spinning of his wheels, his fretting, his panicking about forcing Minho to do something that he didn’t want to do, and the answer was in front of him the whole time:

It was about making sure Minho knew that Jisung was there for him.

“I’m such an idiot,” he breathed, setting the mug down and ruffling his dual-toned hair. “I owe you and Hoseok-hyung big time! I don’t know what I can do to repay you two, but if you ever need something, let me know!”

Jungkook shook his head slightly, then he had a mischievous look on his face. “Well. You could show me those clips of Minho and Changbin’s first appointments…”

~ * ~

“Don’t worry about me,” Seungmin said, pulling Jisung to the side as the night began to wind down, the hosts now moving into their personal dates, “I’m going to hang out with Changbin-hyung tonight.”

For a long moment, Jisung didn’t put the pieces together until Seungmin gave him a flat look and it all fell into place. “Oh… oh! Jeez. Sorry, Seungminnie. Heh. Ah, uh. Thanks.” He rubbed his neck. “This is so awkward to talk about.”

Seungmin pointed at him. “That’s why I’m staying at Changbin-hyung’s tonight. Yongbok-hyung is staying here, so that means I’m over there and we’re not talking about this ever again.”

“Fair.” Relieved, Seungmin smiled and clapped Jisung on the back, heading over to the ‘painfully single’ table, leaving Jisung to his own devices. “Okay, you can do this, Han Jisung.” He clapped his hands to his cheeks and after grabbing their coats, made his way over to Minho, who was waiting for him at their usual dual-host station. “ _Hey, baby, you so fine, baby. Wanna go home with me, baby?_ ”

Minho stared at him for a long moment, expression flitting between dumbfounded and offended before he suddenly laughed, putting a hand over his face. It was worth the fool that Jisung had just made out of himself speaking in such heavily accented English. “What the hell was that?” he asked, struggling to breathe.

Sheepishly, Jisung smiled and stole a quick kiss. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Huh?” Minho’s brows knitted together. “Aren’t we having dinner here? The whole… Valentine’s Day date … thing?” he gestured at the entirety of the bar.

Jisung smiled as one of the waiters came over with an exquisitely packed up parcel of food, nicely packed into a paper bag with the _God’s Menu_ logo. “Thanks, man! Have a good night.” He tipped the waiter generously and gestured to Minho. “We’re going to spend tonight together back at the apartment. Minnie’s hanging out with Changbin tonight so we got the place to ourselves. — C’mon.”

Slowly, Minho pushed himself up, clearly still buffering with the sudden shift in plans. “Isn’t Chan-hyung going to be upset?”

“Please, he’s so goo-goo eyed for Felix he’s not going to notice,” Jisung said, waving his hand as he helped Minho put on his coat. “And I already told him.” After getting his own coat on and buttoned up, Jisung took the Birman’s hand and gave it a squeeze, heading out with him in to the late February air.

“What are you planning?” Minho asked, though there was hardly any malice in his tone. He seemed fond, and a bit unsure. Honestly, it was the cutest he’d ever been and Jisung was practically vibrating in place so as to not hug him and coo at the older man. “You’ve been acting weird this whole time.”

Jisung stuck his tongue out. “It’s called a personality trait, look it up, hyung,” he said, giggling. “And I realized that the traditional Valentine’s Day stuff is kind of boring and not really us, so I thought this would be better. We’re more homebodies, you know? I think it sounds a lot better to be in our sweatpants and t-shirts than in these stuffy suits, don’t you think?”

“Don’t let Miss. Raven hear you say that,” Minho pointed out, smirking. “One of her little messengers is right over there.” He pointed up to one of the street lamps, where a pair of ravens were sitting, cawing at each other.

Jisung stopped and looked up at the birds. “Oi, snitches get stitches!” He warned them, pointing two fingers to his eyes and back to the ravens. They cawed at him. “That’s what I thought. — and I like the suits! Very cool, I feel like Alucard. But there’s just something amazingly fun and domestic about sweatpants, you know?”

Minho was watching him, amused. “Fun and domestic?”

“You heard me,” he said, pointing a finger at his boyfriend as they walked towards their shared apartment. “Fun and domestic, the unofficial, official motto of sweatpants.”

“I thought ‘easy access’ was the motto for sweatpants.”

“No, ass-less chaps. Keep up.”

Minho choked on air, and was thus easily pliable giving Jisung the opportunity to tug his boyfriend into their apartment complex and to their suite.

“Oh? You wanna see me in ass-less chaps, huh? I don’t have any on hand but I’m sure I could find a pair.”

“Where would you _find a pair?_ ” Minho demanded, a blush shooting across his cheeks. He was flustered and tilted, and it was the cutest thing Jisung had ever seen.

Jisung threw his hands up in the air one they were safely inside and the door had been locked up nice and securely. “I don’t know! But isn’t that half the fun of ass-less chaps? Finding them?” He paused and grinned cheekily. “I guess the other half of the fun is that there’s only half a thing of fabric holding them together.” Jisung threw a careless wink before setting the take-out onto their dining room table, setting everything out neatly. “—Quit imagining me in the ass-less chaps I don’t own and change, hyung!”

Minho started, caught, and ran a hand through his carefully styled hair. “Y-Yeah, I’m … I’m going.”

The Chimera were-cat laughed a little and shook his head; this was definitely the right call. He finished setting everything and when Minho shuffled back out dressed comfortably and barefaced, directed him to sit down. “Best Minho,” he said happily, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s temple and heading off to change out of his own suit, making sure to put it back into the garment bag that Raven had given him. Jisung hummed a half-finished song that wouldn’t leave his head as he meticulously removed all his earrings and rings, putting them away in their proper boxes before heading back out.

“I thought you wanted to do the whole fancy dinner date thing,” Minho said finally once Jisung had sat down, “you wouldn’t stop talking about it.”

Jisung shook his head. “I realized it’s not really us. I thought this would be more our speed and with Minnie hanging out with Changbin-hyung, it’s a nice quiet night at home.”

“Home…” Minho looked down at his plate, a small smile on his lips. “Dare I ask what else you have planned?”

“You don’t dare because it’s a _surprise_ called movies and beer,” Jisung replied, laughing as he dug into the food. “Now eat. I had to bribe the kitchen staff to make your favourites. And by bribe I mean I promised never to step foot in there again without supervision.”

Minho laughed, shaking his head. “When were you ever unsupervised?”

Jisung grinned sheepishly as he stuffed a bundle of noodles into his mouth. “I’m not allowed to say.” He grinned after he chewed and swallowed, finding a succulent piece of pork. “Here!” He tapped Minho’s lips with the pork, staining the older man’s lips with the grease. “—Something wrong?”

Startled out of his thoughts, Minho shook his head and smiled, opening his mouth wide and taking the pork from his boyfriend’s chopsticks. He closed his lips around the chopsticks, steely blue eyes flicking up and it was a deadly, deadly gaze Jisung found himself affixed with. God damn his long eyelashes; they were really pretty. He knew he was in trouble when Minho, after chewing and swallowing, curled his tongue around one of the ends of the chopsticks. “Nothing’s wrong,” Minho murmured.

“You better be on your best behaviour mister, I’m not missing a minute of _The Mummy_ starring Brendan Fraser circa 1999. Then it’s _The Mummy Returns_ and _The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor_ which no one likes but I’m willing to give a chance.” Jisung pointed at Minho, a smile breaking out on his lips when he saw Minho crack and begin to laugh again.

Minho’s laugh was his favourite song.

They packed up what they couldn’t finish from the special Valentine’s Day couple’s meal and put it away in the fridge, making sure there was enough room to put more things in if necessary. Jisung put a quick note on one of the boxes that Seungmin was welcome to take from it if he wanted, moving to the living room couch with a more relax Minho and a 6 pack of beer in tow. As they settled in, Jisung smiled as Minho leaned against him, the light in the apartment dim save for the glow coming from their out of date but well loved TV.

“…who would you be in this movie?” Minho asked idly, his eyes trained on the screen as the movie started in earnest.

Jisung hummed and grinned. “I wanna say I’d be Brendan Fraser but I’d probably be one of the goons that went overboard when he and Rachel Weiss fight everybody off. Or the comedic relief that dies due to his own hubris.”

“That’s so specific,” Minho laughed, shaking his head against Jisung’s shoulder. “But as you mention it, I’d probably be the skeptic that died to mouthing off.”

“You wouldn’t be the beautiful ingenue with the book smarts and the smart mouth?” Jisung asked, fingers lightly brushing Minho’s forelocks away from his eyes. “The one that knows how to throw hands and surprises the lead with their quick thinking and stone cold fox good looks?”

Minho snorted and nipped at Jisung’s fingers. “Are you even paying attention to the movie?”

“Of course I am! Uh, look at Brendan Fraser go. He’s… uh, he’s doing things.”

“He’s in jail.”

“I’m sure he’s innocent. Look at that face.”

Minho chuckled and pushed himself up, leaning over to capture Jisung’s lips in a slow kiss. “I’d much rather look at yours.”

Heat rushed to Jisung’s cheeks and he returned the kiss as the blanket rustled at the movement. “You know, when I asked for Host Lee Minho at _God’s Menu_ , I wasn’t expecting him to come home with me.”

“Mm, I wanted to make an exception for my cute customer,” Minho murmured, kissing him again, shifting on the couch to get a better angle. “He’s been really good to me.” There was a moment’s pause as Minho moved underneath the blanket and swung a leg over Jisung’s lap, situating himself nicely.

Jisung’s eyebrows raised slightly, hands automatically resting on Minho’s waist, idly dipping his fingers underneath the stretchy waistband of his sweatpants. “Yeah? He sounds like a keeper.” His breath caught in his throat as Minho leaned in, lips stained with the cheap beer Jisung bought but smelling of the high-end cologne he splurged on.

Minho’s slender fingers were lazily sliding underneath Jisung’s baggy shirt, loud explosions and yelling coming from the TV, but handily ignored in favour of more enticing things. “He is,” Minho said earnestly, ducking his head down to place soft kisses that got progressively more biting the further down the Chimera’s neck he went. “I want to show him how much.”

“Hmm,” Jisung hummed, and grinned, lightly clapping a hand to Minho’s hip. “Save it for White Day. Today’s my day to spoil you.” Confused but strangely obedient, Minho slid off Jisung’s lap, allowing himself to be brought to their shared bedroom once the TV had been turned off. “Is this okay?” he asked quietly, resting his hands on either side of Minho’s cheeks.

The Birman was quiet for a long moment before a smile came to his lips and he nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t know you were a switch,” he teased, stealing a kiss from Jisung’s gap-mouth expression.

“ _Assumptions!_ ” Jisung exclaimed, smacking Minho lightly on the chest, earning himself a peal of laughter from the older man. “I didn’t know you’d be such a bratty bottom,” he teased right back, tugging Minho closer by gripping his waist so they were flush against one another. He grinned at the surprise that coloured the older were-cat’s face and crinkled his nose in gleeful supremacy. “Got you.”

“And what are you going to do with me?” Minho asked, stealing a quick kiss.

Jisung hummed again as he gently slid his hands up Minho’s baggy shirt, tossing it to the side when the older man slackened his shoulders and relaxed his posture so it could come off. “Don’t know, we’re going to see where the night takes us. I just wanna be with you tonight.” He smiled against the soft lips of his boyfriend, tugging off his own shirt before guiding them towards the bed. It’d been a while since he topped, but strangely, he didn’t feel nervous: he knew what he wanted to do tonight, and even if they didn’t fuck, as long as Minho was comfortable the night would be a win.

“Don’t go too slowly,” Minho warned.

“Ah-ah, on the bed,” Jisung tutted, winking as he pinched Minho’s side. He was playing with fire, but hey, he was here for a good time not a long time. Now that he didn’t have Minho’s warm body next to him he felt hella subconscious but pushed it out of his mind and pulled what he needed from their bedside table, setting it on the table within reach.

Confused that the condoms and lube weren’t on the bed, Minho looked at Jisung quizzically. “I thought—”

Jisung smiled warmly and kissed his cheek. “I don’t wanna force anything tonight. I just wanna spoil you and take care of you and see where it goes.” His heart was beating out of his chest, despite the apparent calmness of his words, and Jisung swallowed gently against his boyfriend’s neck, trailing his kisses down further and further. “Good…? I’m a little rusty.”

“It’s good,” Minho murmured, tilting his head back against the pillow. “You’re really surprising me tonight, Jisungie…”

“I’m full of surprises and some of them are even good,” Jisung replied, a little huff of laughter pressing against Minho’s toned abdomen. He took his time, placing kisses all along the toned muscle, even flicking his tongue out to outline the faint appearance of abs. “You’re so gorgeous, Min… so smart, so tough… and really kind and loving too… I know it’s been hard to open up to us, to me, but … I really appreciate it.”

Minho stilled, his hand resting lightly on Jisung’s dual-toned, navy and blond hair. “Jisung…” he whispered. “What’s… brought this all on?”

“No real reason,” Jisung replied, kissing Minho’s right hipbone. “I just realized… how I wanna be with you. Like this. Just … us, no bells, no whistles, just… home. I know… this time of year is tough on you and I wanna be a safe space.”

As he felt a tug on his hair, Jisung pushed himself up and slid up a bit, smiling like a lovesick fool when he saw the emotion flit across Minho’s face. Without question, Jisung let himself be pulled into a slow, deep kiss, gripping the bedsheets to stabilize himself before he fell too far. When he felt Minho’s calloused hands grip his waist, the younger man smiled against his boyfriend’s lips. “I want you,” Minho whispered. “Now, please?”

Jisung swallowed. “What do you want, Min? I need to hear it…”

A brief flash of embarrassment crossed Minho’s handsome features, and he ducked his head briefly, his lips pressing against Jisung’s ear. “I want you, Han Jisung, to _fuck me_ ,” Minho hissed, his skin flushing pink. “Right now, like this.”

“You got it, _baby_ ,” Jisung whispered, smiling as he felt Minho’s hips kick up a bit at that. “Oh? I didn’t know you liked that. Good to know…” He winked and avoided a smack as he ducked to grab the condoms and the bottle of lube. “Tell me if I’m doing something you like or don’t like; it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

“So considerate,” Minho murmured, watching with a heavy-lidded gaze as Jisung tugged his sweatpants and underwear off, the Chimera’s own joining the pile somewhere in the corner. Absently, the Birman licked his lips as he watched Jisung warm the clear gel between his fingers and huffed out a laugh. “So thoughtful.”

Jisung rolled his eyes. “So _chatty_ tonight.” He smirked, though, settling down between Minho’s legs and kissing the inside of his toned thighs. “I don’t like how flawless your thighs are… I’m gonna change that.”

Minho’s eyes widened. “Ji— ah!” He bit his lip and tilted his head back, a strangled moan tumbling out of his throat as Jisung started to leave a trail of bright red bites down both of Minho’s thighs. The sound was music to the younger man’s ears and he doubled up his efforts, smiling when he felt Minho begin to tremble with need. His dual-coloured eyes flicked up and he licked his own lips; Minho was _gorgeous_.

And _his_.

Unable to help himself, Jisung flicked his tongue out and slid it along the entire length of Minho’s cock, delighted when a trembling moan fell out of the older man. “It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Jisung whispered when he pulled himself back up, stealing a brief kiss from Minho’s lips. The little gasps for air were doing a number on him as well, so he knew he had to act relatively fast.

What he wouldn’t rush was the preparation; Minho deserved all the care in the world, and by God, Jisung was going to give it to him. He continued to steal soft kisses and whisper quiet words of praise and love as he stretched his boyfriend open, listening intently for any shift in comfort, or to tilt his fingers just to the left when commanded. “Fuck you,” Minho breathed. “You aren’t rusty, what the fuck.”

Jisung laughed against Minho’s neck, a devilish grin appearing on his lips as he began to suck and bite right above where he’d mate the Birman, delighting in the throaty groan he received in response. “I’m a good listener despite all the evidence to the contrary,” he whispered, his voice low and rough. “Ready, baby?”

“Yeah, want you,” Minho confirmed, vision hazy. “Like this.”

“Like this,” Jisung confirmed, licking his lips as he got himself ready. His hands shook slightly as he rolled the condom on, and he forced the tremors down when he slicked himself up. “Deep breaths, Min. Hold onto me as tight as you need to; I won’t break.”

Minho looked at him for a long moment, silvery blue eyes conflicted before they cleared into complete trust. He nodded once and leaned forward for a kiss, one that Jisung happily gave him. “Go, now.”

Exhaling deeply, Jisung nodded back. “Here we go…” Words fell away as Jisung slowly pushed in, hissing both at the tightness he soon found himself enveloped in and the way Minho’s blunted nails were digging into his shoulders and back. A surprised groan escaped him as Minho dragged his nails down Jisung’s tanned back, the action way hotter than it had any right to be. Jisung continued to push in slow, inch by inch until he was buried to the hilt and he stilled. “You… talk to me, Min… okay?”

“So good,” Minho replied breathlessly, digging his nails deeper into Jisung’s back. “Move, I want you … just… _go_. I don’t care how, I want you, _just you_.”

Something unexpected bubbled up inside of Jisung, and his eyes darkened with love-hued desire. “I’ve got you,” he whispered back, capturing his boyfriend’s lips in a deep kiss as he slowly began to rock his hips. He’d already decided on a slow, deep and steady pace, but he was even more convinced it was the right move now. Minho was vulnerable, opening up at an intensely private and intimate moment, and Jisung wasn’t going to fumble this.

It took a thousand percent of his concentration, but it was easier than Jisung thought to focus solely on his boyfriend. Minho’s gasps were melting into deep moans, his nails dragging fine and jagged red lines down the Chimera’s back. Jisung stared down at the older man, his dual-coloured gaze catching Minho’s steely blue-eyed one, and he realized n that moment just how far gone he was.

“I love you,” Jisung whispered against Minho’s ear, his voice thick and wrought with love, lust, and everything in between. “I love you, Minho. I love you so much.”

Minho’s eyes widened and his body suddenly stilled, his eyes squeezing shut with a surprised, choked moan as he came. He clenched so tightly around Jisung that the Chimera was unable to hold back, following him right afterwards. “Sh-Shit,” Minho whispered, his voice fucked out and in disbelief. “That’s… dirty pool, Han Jisung…”

“W-What?” Jisung demanded, blushing brightly.

“You can’t just say you love me when you’re balls deep in me,” Minho breathed, a startled laugh leaving him. “Am I supposed to say it back while we’re like this?”

Jisung’s shoulders hunched up defensively. “Say it whenever you want! I’m not gonna force you!” he replied, his blush darkening as he slowly pulled out, the embarrassment that they’d both come so quickly disappearing while they bickered. He grabbed a box of wet wipes from nearby, focusing on cleaning them up instead of the conversation. With an undignified squawk as Minho pulled him under the covers as soon as cleanup was finished, Jisung looked up at the Birman with wide eyes. “W-What?”

“I love you too,” Minho said finally, kissing his neck as he hugged him tightly. “Now shut up and stay still; I want my cuddles.”

“No argument here…” Jisung said, baffled. Despite the sheer awkwardness of it, his chest tightened in excitement; Minho loved him too. Minho trusted him and Jisung didn’t fuck it up. He couldn’t believe it. It was a Valentine’s Day miracle. Smiling and burying himself agains Minho’s side, Jisung closed his eyes and relaxed.

“…I lost them on Valentine’s Day.”

“H-Huh?” Jisung snapped awake, not realizing he’d dozed off. He looked up at Minho, frowning. “What?”

Minho wasn’t looking at him, but tightened his grip around the younger man. “My family. They died on Valentine’s Day. Or around it… I don’t really remember anymore. We had … a clinic. My family did. I wanted… to inherit it. I was gonna be a doctor. I was gonna stay in the town and help people.”

“M-Minho-hyung, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“…No, it’s okay.” Minho pressed a kiss to the top of the Chimera’s head. “It kind of feels like I’m talking about someone else by this point. I don’t remember the specifics anymore, but … we got forced out of our home, the clinic was … bought out? I think? Some … land shark … or maybe it was that big private hospital that went up… I don’t know.” Minho swallowed and shook his head. “I… sorry. I want to tell you everything, I just…”

Quickly, Jisung sprang up and hugged Minho tightly. “Don’t force yourself,” he whispered. “I don’t… whenever you’re ready, I’ll be waiting. But if you’re never ready, that’s okay too. I’m still gonna be here. I’m with you. And… you’re not alone anymore. You found Jungkook-ssi, and Chan-hyung, and everybody else! We’re not going to replace your family, but… we’re your family too.”

He could feel Minho’s arms tighten around him. “Thank you,” the older man whispered after a long moment. He huffed out a laugh and shook his head. “I really gotta work on my pillow talk.”

“A little bit,” Jisung teased gently, kissing his temple. “But I love you anyway. I’m… I’m so sorry about what happened to your family. Thank you for trusting me, Min…”

“It’s easy to talk to you,” Minho whispered. “I was… I didn’t want you know… like, if you knew, that you’d … look at me like I was…”

“…like you were what?”

“Like you didn’t love me anymore.”

“W-Why wouldn’t I?”

“I don’t know!” Minho frowned and ruffled his hair in frustration. “Like I could’ve saved them? I was just afraid. I don’t know.”

“H-Hey, it’s okay,” Jisung soothed, taking Minho’s hands in his. “Deep breaths. It’s okay… wanna… wanna get some tea, finish watching that shitty movie?”

Minho was silent for a long moment, his fingers stroking the backs of Jisung’s hands. Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think I could fall asleep right now, amazing sex aside.” He smirked weakly.

Jisung blinked, then laughed and hugged him tight. “Let’s go thirst over Brendan Fraser.” It was awkward, no doubt about it as they got up from the bed and threw on some clothes from what they could find on the floor, but Jisung didn’t care. All he cared about was the man in his arms, the man that trusted him so much that he opened up about the most painful memory he had. “…Hey.” He smiled when Minho looked over at him as the movie started up again. “I love you.”

A blush coloured Minho’s tanned cheeks and he burrowed into the blanket. “…I love you too.”

“You’re going to have to say that again.”

“Fuck off.”

“Aw, I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you're all doing well!
> 
> WRITING MINHO WAS SO HARD TT___TT does he sound even halfway like it's right?


	7. HyuSang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite not being a Black Cat, Yeosang had grown up around magic and would do anything for his older sister, who risked it all for them to escape a dangerous life. Never one to believe in fate, Yeosang takes matters into his own hands when it's clear Yuna refuses to tell Seokjin something very important about being a Black Cat's soulmate.
> 
> What he doesn't expect, is to get tangled up in God's Menu's top host, Hwang Hyunjin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hyunjin is introduced and plays a major part in Part 5, and Yeosang is introduced in Part 3, making another appearance in Part 4. 
> 
> This is the most self-indulgent thing I’ve ever done (minus this entire collection). Thank you for tolerating me.

_“Where are we going, sis?” He rubbed his eyes, yawning despite himself._

_His sister paused, her hand briefly tightening around his as her bracelets jingled. It was the dead of night, and he had been roughly roused from his deep sleep with nothing more than an urgent command that they get the hell out of there. “Away from here; I’m tired of doing that man's dirty work… Ji is too. I don’t… you have a chance at a normal life, Yeosang; I don’t want you to have to deal with this shit, so we’re getting out of here.”_

_He remembered feeling faint. “Isn’t … isn’t dad going to find you? Us?”_

_She smiled at him. He always liked her smile. “Not if I don’t want to be found.” Thunder clapped and he pressed close to her, still scared of it despite how much older he was now. “It’s okay. I’ve got a plan.”_

_“…is it a good one?”_

_“Let’s not get carried away.”_

_A hand suddenly came down on his sister’s shoulder, the owner having a pair of supernaturally bright yellow/gold eyes. “We need to go. Now.”_

Suddenly, Yeosang shot up in his bed, drenched in a cold sweat. He raked a hand through his chin-length black hair, flinching at how damp it felt while his heart continued to beat out of his chest. He let out a shaky exhale before throwing open his comforter and sliding out, desperate for some fresh air; his room felt entirely too stuffy despite its size. Hastily, he slid into his slippers and began to walk down the long, winding halls of the estate, grateful that the Winchester Mansion-esque design was useful for once.

“Yeosang?”

Without realizing it, he had made his way to his sister’s study, somehow not surprised that she was still awake at this hour. For as long as he’d had conscious memory, Yuna was a night owl and it was only when he’d gotten older that he realized why: the nightmares of what she’d done, what she had to do to survive, they tormented her when the sun went down. “Sorry,” he mumbled, feeling embarrassed. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Couldn’t sleep.”

Yuna smiled a little and closed her laptop, pushing herself to her feet. She was dressed comfortably in black leggings, an oversized t-shirt and a zip-up hoodie, such a change from her usual dress and the only indication she was 27, not a hundred years older. “It’s fine, I was… hmm, the same way. Strange, because I’m exhausted.”

“…when was the last time you saw Seokjin-ssi?”

“Halloween, I think? No, Christmas.” Yuna hummed as she gestured with an inclination of her head for Yeosang to follow her. Curious, the younger of the two siblings nodded and did as bid, his slippers clapping dully against the hardwood floor. In comparison, Yuna’s footsteps were so light that he could barely hear them; he wondered if the habit from their childhood was ever going to truly go away.

Yeosang frowned. “Yuna… that’s way too long. You should be seeing him more often than that. Even if you weren’t his soulmate, it’s not right to spend that much time apart.”

Yuna snorted, shaking her head, the charms affixed in her hair jingling quietly. “Life doesn’t stop just because fate thought it’d be funny to saddle us with not only a soulmate but being a needy child as well.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “It’s part of the reason I didn’t want to meet my soulmate. It’s so … _inconvenient and annoying_.”

“You’re the only person that would think that finding the love of their life is an inconvenience,” Yeosang sighed. He raised an eyebrow as Yuna entered the expansive kitchen and silently began to take out bowls, pans, and other items. “… what are you doing?”

“I’m hungry, aren’t you?”

“It’s 2…” He looked at one of the kitchen clocks. “It’s 2:31 a.m.”

Yuna scoffed softly. “Got it, you don’t want any fried chicken; more for me.”

“Eh - I didn’t say that!”

“You’re going to have to speak up,” Yuna said, gesturing to her ears as she pulled out the chicken. “I’m old and my hearing isn’t what it used to be, because what I heard… was that you said it was 2:31 a.m. in a tone that indicated you weren’t hungry.”

Yeosang narrowed his eyes slightly. “The tone indicated it was _2:31 a.m._ not that I didn’t want fried chicken. You can’t pull your Jedi mind tricks on me.”

Yuna sighed as she cut open the package of chicken with a knife. “Shame.” She placed the knife down on a cutting board, pulling on a pair of black latex gloves, getting to work putting the batter together and mixing her usual spices and seasonings in a separate bowl. Yeosang had asked her once upon a time for the recipe but Yuna admitted she didn’t have one; she just winged it. “Were you thinking about that night?”

The question came out of left field, and one would have expected Yeosang to be used to his sister’s frighteningly accurate if not vague questions, but he was still caught off guard. He blamed it on his lack of sleep. Yes. “No,” Yeosang lied, glancing away as he busied himself with cleaning and setting out the chicken as needed - getting another two packages as he was beginning to feel not only hungry, but _starving_. “…Yes.”

His older sister paused for a brief moment as she mixed the batter, and nodded slightly in understanding. “It’s around this time, wasn’t it?” she murmured, more to herself. “Hm, then it’s a good thing we’re having this now; fried chicken always helped with the bad memories.”

Yeosang smiled faintly. The early days of them breaking away from their father and his… unique way of doing business were difficult, and a lot of days were spent at Wooyoung’s house. He practically lived there while Yuna and Jiyong were trying to get their feet under themselves. Being only 12, he couldn’t really do much aside from stay at Wooyoung’s house and continue going to school. Vivid memories of sitting cross-legged on the floor late at night with Wooyoung and his sister, the three of them - sometimes four if Jiyong was able to join - eating fried chicken and talking about anything and everything were some of the most precious things Yeosang kept to his heart.

An abrupt clatter jolted Yeosang from his trip down memory lane and he looked up, seeing that Yuna’s eyes had turned from dark blue to pure black. The Black Cat Mark on her right forearm began to glow slightly and her lips curled into a frown. “What the hell,” she whispered. “Who’s… someone’s trying to break the illusion spell.”

“—What?” now it was Yeosang who dropped what he was doing, his eyes wide. There had been people trying to get into their home for years, ever since Yuna and Jiyong got more prominent, since Yuna began to take in and help train fellow Black Cats, but none were ever successful at getting in if Yuna didn’t want them to.

“I’m going to take a look,” Yuna instructed, pulling off her gloves and tossing them into a nearby trashcan. “Can you wake up BamBam?”

Yeosang nodded. “Yeah, of course. — be careful.” Once his sister nodded, Yeosang broke off and pulled off his gloves, hurrying out of the kitchen behind her but splitting away to go down a different hallway. Ordinarily he would feel a little bad about waking BamBam up at this hour, but it was an emergency. “BamBam-hyung!”

There was a loud crash and the sound of someone scrambling before the door opened. “Yeo! What is it?” BamBam asked, wild-eyed and jolted awake.

“Sorry, but someone’s trying to break past Yuna’s illusion spell. She wanted me to wake you up and circle around to catch them.”

“Shit, that explains the weird energy I heard. — Yeah, man. Let’s go.” BamBam grabbed his slippers and threw them on, closing the door behind him as he followed Yeosang out towards the other end of the estate. As they reached the outside and came around, hiding in the various bushes and trees that surrounded the estate, Yeosang stopped short when BamBam raised his hand.

‘BamBam, do you hear anything?’

Yeosang stopped short, sharing a look with the older Black Cat; Yuna’s voice came in clear in their thoughts, the familiar mental pressure of her power entering their minds feeling like a soft weight. BamBam pressed a hand to his left side, just under his ribs, the mark glowing faintly in the dark, and he closed his eyes.

‘…Yeah, there’s five of them; they’re kids. — Miss. Raven, they’re Black Cats.’

‘I see them. Hold tight.’

“Like _we_ can _see_ anything,” Yeosang muttered.

Despite having grown up alongside his sister and Jiyong’s black magic, Yeosang was a human and couldn’t sense shit. He did have a higher than normal passive perception of things, and had an abnormally high rate of accuracy in reading people thanks to Yuna teaching him the intricacies of body language. BamBam snickered and waved a hand, trying to control himself but also keep Yeosang quiet.

They watched as Yuna ‘de-cloaked’ herself from her illusion spell as she walked up the path, her footsteps featherlight. She folded her arms and leaned over what appeared to be - to Yeosang and BamBam - absolutely nothing but a small cluster of bushes. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, her voice harsh and sharp.

Abruptly, the cluster of bushes turned into five young men, roughly around Yeosang’s age, all of them wearing black clothing but with wildly different hair and eye colours. They exclaimed loudly in unison and fell over backwards, scrambling to turn around and see who had managed to get the drop on them. “W-Who are you?!” one of the young men, the one with rose-hued eyes demanded.

“This is my _house_ , who are _you?_ ” Yuna retorted, her eyes narrowing. “Did you not think that that spell was there for a reason?”

One of the young men, with curly brown hair and grey eyes, smiled sheepishly. “We thought it was weird that there was a giant illusion spell here and we wanted to see if we could break it.”

“…the five of you sensed an illusion spell and your first thought was to try and break it?” Yuna echoed, raising a fine eyebrow. “All together?”

One of the boys, with dark brown hair and orange eyes rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. “It only works if it’s all of us. — ow! What?” He pouted and looked at the red-haired boy with yellow eyes.

“Why are you telling her how our magic works?” the redhead demanded.

The tallest boy with midnight blue eyes that mirrored Yuna’s own sighed. “Because she _caught us_ , which means that she knows how to use magic too. Plus, we were trying to break into her house. — we didn’t know it was your home.” He smacked the others. “We need to apologize.” When the others hesitated, the blue-eyed boy narrowed his eyes and frowned, which quickly prompted the other four to bow deeply. “We’re sorry; I’m Soobin… this is Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Huening Kai, but he usually goes by Kai.”

Yuna watched them carefully, and exhaled softly after a long moment. “On your feet. My name is Raven and you’re quite lucky that you stumbled upon my home and not one of the less… understanding Black Cats.”

Quickly, the five boys got to their feet and exchanged looks with each other. “Wait … _you’re_ Raven?” the boy with the rose coloured eyes asked, tilting his head. “The way that old lady talked about you made it sound like you were 100.”

“It feels like it sometimes,” Yuna muttered as she gestured for BamBam and Yeosang to come out of hiding. “This is BamBam, a Black Cat and Yeosang, my brother. Now, everybody inside and we’ll take this from the top.”

Kai looked at Yeosang curiously. “Are you a Black Cat too?”

“No, I’m not,” Yeosang answered tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, that sucks,” Beomgyu added.

“I’ve survived somehow,” Yeosang replied flatly as BamBam snickered. “How many more Black Cats are you going to adopt, sis?”

Yuna sighed loudly as she opened the doors, leading her little gaggle of Black Cats - and one human - inside the estate. “At least one more, but this one’s a special case: he has the same expertise I do.”

Yeosang paused - causing Taehyun to run smack into his back with a disgruntled yowl - and stared at his sister. “The real one?”

“…Yes. It’s a special case,” Yuna reiterated, gently tugging Yeosang along by the wrist as she led everyone to the kitchen where their half-prepared fried chicken remained untouched. “He’s around here somewhere, but unlike the rest of us, is probably actually asleep.”

BamBam sighed and ran a hand through his own red and orange dyed hair. “Must be nice.” He looked over at the group of five young men that were watching him curiously. “You kids strays?”

Soobin nodded, though it was clear that he and the other boys were distracted by the beautiful house they found themselves in. “For as long as we can remember,” he answered dutifully, sitting down when BamBam guided him to a seat at the table. “—what is this place? Is this really your house?”

“It’s a lot of things,” Yuna admitted as she pulled on a pair of gloves alongside Yeosang as they returned to coating and breading the fried chicken, working in silent unison. “It’s our home but also something of a Black Cat resource centre and sanctuary, for those that need help. It’s hard enough for us out there, I don’t see why we can’t help each other.”

Yeonjun peered curiously at what Yeosang was doing with a breaded chicken breast and with a smirk, Yeosang flicked a little bit of the breading at him off his gloves. “Ngh! — You don’t seem mad at us for trying to break into your home.”

“Oh, I’m furious,” Yuna replied brightly, her tone causing Yeonjun to sit up straight in surprise. “But I like to play the long-con so the consequences will be coming later.”

BamBam laughed as the five young men’s faces blanched. “What Miss. Raven means is you can stay here, but be prepared to work. — want me to make some sides, Miss. Raven?”

Yuna nodded. “If you could, BamBam, that would be great.” She looked over at the five boys, chuckling at their confused looks. “I assume you’re all hungry.”

“…not to sound ungrateful, but you’re really eating fried chicken at 3 in the morning?” Taehyun asked, blinking owlishly.

“This is a weird house, if you haven’t noticed,” Yeosang said, snickering as he began to lay the breaded chicken out on a tray. “You’ll probably have to have one of us with you while you get used to it; we’ve lost a couple people to the winding hallways and the door that leads to nowhere.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “There’s a door that leads to nowhere?”

A tired yawn came from the doorway, and a young man roughly BamBam’s age came in, running a hand through his stylishly cut short hair. His crimson eyes were sleepy as he rubbed them, dressed in a baggy black t-shirt and shorts, showing off his tattoos. “Yeah, someone nearly fell out of it yesterday; it’s on the third floor and goes to a steep drop outside.”

“That’s why we don’t drink on the third floor,” Yuna explained blithely, heating up the oil on the stove. “Good thing you were there, Changkyun.”

“W-Why is there a door that leads to nowhere?” Beomgyu asked, orange eyes wide.

BamBam paused and looked over at Yeosang and Yuna. “Why _is_ there a door that leads to nowhere?”

Yeosang snorted. “The contractors kept saying the land was haunted or cursed and they were ‘possessed’ when they were working on it. If they didn’t keep making weird additions they’d get killed or something. They didn’t charge us for it and Sis is weird, so…” He shrugged.

“It gives the house _character_ ,” Yuna replied, rolling her eyes. “And it keeps everybody on their toes. It’s only killed a couple of people who tried to break in. What’s the problem?” She looked over at Changkyun. “Couldn’t sleep?”

Changkyun yawned and nodded. “I’m gonna tell my soulmate tomorrow about the whole soulmate thing.”

There was an almost imperceptible pause in Yuna’s movements as she put a few pieces of chicken in the pan, beginning to fry them. “Is that a good idea? You just joined the band.”

“I should rip it off, like a band-aid,” Changkyun replied, waking up a bit more. “If he knows right out the gate, then we can… y’know, work on it. Together.” He scratched the back of his neck. “There’s never gonna be a good time.”

“You’re right about that, at least,” Yeosang said carefully. “BamBam-hyung still hasn’t said anything to his soulmate and Sis hasn’t seen hers in months; some initiative can’t be terrible.”

Yuna elbowed him in the side. Sharply. “The dynamic with the group is still uneasy, isn’t it? I would caution against doing something like that right now, Changkyun. They aren’t your biggest fans because of what happened with their friend.”

Changkyun frowned. “I had nothing to do with that, though… and Minhyuk has been nice. I think he’d understand.”

“They might still blame you. I can’t make you do anything, but … think about it a little bit longer, at least,” Yuna cautioned, her voice soft despite the loud crackle from the oil frying the chicken.

Beomgyu blinked. “Soulmates?”

“Does that even exist?” Taehyun added, snorting. “This isn’t a fairy tale.”

BamBam blinked back at them. “Yeah, for Black Cats they do. What did you think that … yo, why do you five have like multiple pairs of soulmate earrings?”

Yuna stilled and gestured for Yeosang to watch the frying chicken while she came over, wiping her gloved hands on a towel. She walked over briskly to the young men, and peered at their right ears. True enough, each one of them had two pairs of soulmate earrings, but Beomgyu had one with a full half of a charm, and one with what appeared to be half a charm. Beomgyu made a soft sound as Yuna firmly gripped his chin to stop him from fidgeting, trying to get a good look at his earrings.

“ _Soulmate earrings?_ ” Soobin echoed. “That’s what these are?”

“Wh-Why do you keep staring at us like that?” Kai asked, biting his lip. “Is something wrong with ours?”

“No, not wrong, but … different,” Yuna murmured as she gently released Beomgyu. “You’re each other’s soulmates… except for you. You have a half charm… someone outside of this group has the other … half of a half.”

Beomgyu blinked at her, startled. “M-Me? Really?” He looked at the others. “Do… do you mean _romantic_ soulmates?”

“It goes like that sometimes, other times it can be platonic,” Yuna said, leaning back and straightening up. “But what is certain is fate chose those soulmates for you.” She smirked slightly. “You all must be a handful if you have multiple soulmates.”

“What a headache,” Yeosang muttered as he helped Yuna finish up the chicken, BamBam and Changkyun whipping up some sides so they weren’t just eating fried chicken at 3:00 in the morning. “Glad I don’t have to deal with relationship shit like this.”

Yuna’s smirk told him that he probably shouldn’t have said that.

Kai straightened up and his grey eyes brightened when he saw the meal come together, hurrying to get out of the way so the table could be set. “Wow, it looks so good!” he exclaimed, pressing his hands together. “We can really stay here?”

“You’ll have to listen to me and work, but yes, you can stay here for now,” Yuna replied as she set one of the bowls filled with savoury fried chicken down on the table. “I don’t think it would be very safe for the five of you to be out there untrained.”

“…what kind of work?” Taehyun asked, slapping Kai’s hand away before he reached for the chicken. It was clear that he felt the chicken had strings attached and Yeosang smirked; the redhead was the brains of the group, that much was clear now.

Yuna chuckled. “As you can tell, this estate is quite expansive and includes more than just this residential area. A lot of hands are needed to keep it operational, so you’d be helping out with that, in addition to your training. We’ll figure out how best to approach your magic, how it works, and go from there. I don’t imagine you’ll stay here forever, but long enough that you’ll get settled in your skin.”

Changkyun quietly placed serving chopsticks in one of the bowls he had, setting it down. “Do you ever feel settled in your skin?”

“Sometimes.”

Soobin shared a look with the others and they briefly held each other’s hands, falling silent for a long moment. Yeosang blinked and looked over at Yuna, who seemed rather amused by what was happening in front of her. “…What are they doing?”

“They’re using their magic,” Changkyun said, gesturing with a slight tilt of his head. “Didn’t know they could use telepathy too.”

BamBam blinked. “Illusion and Telepathy? That’s kind of like you, Miss. Raven.”

“Mm…” Yuna made a noncommittal sound and watched as the five boys opened their eyes and looked at her. “What’s the final consensus?”

“We’re in,” Yeonjun said, nodding.

“…can we have something to eat too, now?” Kai added, smiling sheepishly.

Yeosang smirked and pushed a plate towards them. “She’ll put you through your paces, so get all the energy you can.” It was a strange situation he’d found himself in, but considering what they’d left so many years ago, Yeosang would take this insanity over _that_ any day of the week.

~ * ~

“Agh! How did I end up here?”

Yeosang blinked, lowering his hand as his vision snapped back into focus, as he was staring blankly at his textbook to the point that it doubled. That voice didn’t sound like anybody he recognized that would currently be at the estate and his brows furrowed. Carefully, Yeosang pushed his chair back and rose to his feet, quietly exiting the study he was using.

“Maybe this will take me back downstairs?” a slender young man asked, tilting his blond haired head from side to side, his hand reaching out for a doorknob.

Yeosang’s eyes widened and he suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the man’s jacket and yanking him back before he walked headlong through the doorway that led to a steep drop. Startled, the man let go and fell backwards, crashing into Yeosang’s chest and causing both men to land in a heap on the floor. “Ow… are you okay?” he asked, groaning.

Suddenly he found himself staring up into a pair of golden orange eyes, framed by shoulder-length, soft-looking blond hair, and a pair of the softest lips Yeosang had ever seen. His dark eyes widened a bit as a brief blush shot across his cheeks; now wasn’t the time to be admiring how cute this guy was. “T-Thank you,” the man said, swallowing tightly; it seemed he was as shaken as Yeosang was, but for very different reasons… or maybe similar reasons if Yeosang wasn’t imagining the blush on his cheeks. “W-Why is there a door like that?”

Carefully, Yeosang pushed himself up to a sitting position, prompting the young man to sit back on his heels. “The contractors thought they were being possessed by ghosts and went a little wild,” Yeosang explained, rubbing his lower back. “It’s like the Winchester Mansion in America if you know about that. — I’m Yeosang.”

“Hyunjin,” the blond replied, bowing respectfully before he got to his feet and helping Yeosang to his. “I’m sorry about all this… I’m here to see Miss. Raven and the person she sent to pick me up just… fucked off and I got lost trying to follow his directions.”

Recognition dawned on Yeosang’s handsome features and he nodded. “Oh, I remember you. You were at _God’s Menu_ when we were there for Wooyoung’s birthday.” He smirked a little bit. “You know San, right?”

Now Hyunjin looked as if all the pieces had fallen into place and he smiled, bowing again, this time more formally. “Yeah, San worked at _God’s Menu_ from the beginning with Chan-hyung. We knew each other in a more professional context before, we were rivals in competing Bars.”

“I can take you to Raven,” Yeosang said, closing the door and leading Hyunjin down the hallway in the opposite direction. “Seonghwa-hyung talks about you a lot. Thank you for helping him out; he’s been going through a really tough time lately.”

Hyunjin smiled as he clasped his hands behind his back. “It’s been fun having him there,” he said, looking around the house curiously. “He’s really taken to it like a fish to water; it’s only been a couple months but he’s already got a waitlist going.”

“Maybe he should quit trying to be a lawyer and be a Host instead,” Yeosang joked as he easily navigated the twisted hallways and staircases. “I heard San was going to be working there again?”

The blond nodded, smiling. “We’re super busy and we don’t really have the time to train someone off the street so we were really hoping Sannie was able to help out. Doesn’t seem like he’s gotten anything too stable other than working pick-up shifts at _Moon_ , so it worked out. Mr. Kim’s known us from the beginning; he was a big reason that Chan was able to keep the Bar.” Hyunjin was affable and talkative now that he knew he could trust Yeosang, and it was honestly kind of cute.

Yeosang blinked, a few more pieces of the puzzle falling into place. “Okay that makes more sense now… San got clothes for Seonghwa-hyung from Kim Seokjin, and was there when Woo took his ex there… he sure gets around.”

Hyunjin looked excited and leaned in close, eyes bright. “You know Wooyoung, his soulmate?”

“Ah,” Yeosang was surprised to find Hyunjin so close, and he looked away, suddenly shy. “Yes, we grew up together.”

“Sannie brought him by recently to meet everyone, they were super cute,” Hyunjin said, smiling. “I always thought Sannie was making it up about his soulmate; he’d use it as a hosting gimmick, but looking at those two, and Chan-hyung and Yongbokie, I think I could believe in it.”

Yeosang raised his eyebrows as he took them down a narrow hallway. “I don’t know if you need fate to choose a soulmate for you, I think we’re capable of doing it on our own.”

Hyunjin’s golden orange eyes widened a little and a small smile came to his lips. “That’s a good way of looking at things.”

“You’re the first person to say that,” Yeosang said with a bit of a laugh as he knocked on Yuna’s study. “Sis, your trainer is here.”

Yuna looked up from her laptop, blinking. “Trainer…? Ah, Hyunjin,” she said, smiling as she rose to her feet. “Thank you for coming; I’m sorry about having to drag you all the way out here. With everything else that’s going on, I don’t have the time to come to the Bar.”

Quickly, Hyunjin shook his head and waved his ring-adorned hands. “It’s okay, noona. As long as I’m back in time for the Bar to open, I’m able to help whenever.”

A small smile curled Yuna’s lips and she nodded gratefully. “Thank you. But you might have your work cut out for you; I’m not exactly the most… flirtatious person.”

“Considering the theme, we can definitely be more flexible and if you’re not comfortable participating a lot, I can take the lead no problem,” Hyunjin assured, smiling. “The most effective thing is to show you how a hosting appointment goes. Do you prefer to watch one or be a part of one?”

A sense of dread fell over Yeosang as his sister’s eyes shifted from slight apprehension to mischievous; only someone as close to her as he or Jiyong would be able to see it. “I would like to watch for the first one, if that’s okay. Ah, Yeosang… good thing you’re here.”

“Yeah…good thing…” Yeosang muttered. He feigned a smile and nodded, running a hand through his dark hair. “All right, but only if I get to stick around and watch _you_ do what Hyunjin’s doing.”

“It’s only fair,” Yuna agreed, though he knew his sister well enough to know that she wasn’t thrilled by the prospect. The Kang siblings played for keeps when it came to each other and both of them weren’t about to admit defeat.

Hyunjin looked between the two of them and hid his smile behind a hand that was pressed to his mouth. “Yeosang, just over here. This works better than just sitting across from each other awkwardly.” He gestured for Yeosang to sit on one of the two armchairs that flanked a small circular table that had a beautiful, black flower arrangement in a terrarium-esque bowl. “So what Seonghwa-hyung did for Wooyoung’s birthday was a group date. A normal hosting appointment is one on one, and is really just a conversation. The hosts play a part, a fantasy for the customer.”

Yeosang raised an eyebrow. “You’re acting?”

“Like a crazier version of myself,” Hyunjin confirmed. “Or, a more exaggerated version… or what people think I’m like. The customers who book me want a flirtatious prince like character, an Idol that they can talk to and pretend like their life is more exciting than it is. It really is just talking with people, but the real trick and skill is to not only make them comfortable, but fall in love with you a little bit.”

“Enough to order expensive food and drink?” Yeosang asked, trying to get himself settled.

Hyunjin laughed. “We’re a business, after all. But eventually you learn how to read people and their energies, personalities, what they’d like and what they’d be more inclined to do. There’s definitely a fair share of people who just order one drink the entire appointment.” Hyunjin gently brushed a bit of his stylishly layered hair out of his eyes, adjusting the starburst pins that pinned it back in a half-ponytail, and straightened his posture. “I understand you go to the same university with Seonghwa-hyung, Hongjoong-hyung and the others?” Hyunjin asked conversationally, smiling faintly.

Caught off guard by the seemingly benign question, Yeosang nodded. “Yes, but they’re a year ahead of Wooyoung and I. Seonghwa-hyung is finishing up his Korean Language and Literature Degree, then he’ll move into the Faculty of Law. Hongjoong-hyung’s finishing up his music composition degree … I don’t know what he’ll do after that, probably start networking with labels and artists. Wooyoung’s going to start working full-time at the family business once we graduate next year. I think Yunho-hyung is going to be a teacher and Mingi’s going the same route as Hongjoong-hyung. Jongho’s been talking about being a physical therapist, but I think he’s still undecided.”

“And you?”

It was a normal response to what he’d said, but the gentleness of it threw Yeosang off. Hyunjin’s voice was soft, but sweet and attentive. “Me?” Yeosang echoed, looking past Hyunjin to the wall. “Right now I’m working on the same track Seonghwa-hyung is; I want to be a lawyer but I want to focus on legislative law.”

Hyunjin blinked, clearly not having expected that. “Oh? How come? You don’t want to be a prosecutor putting away criminals, or an attorney defending the innocent?”

“I want to change how the laws affect were-cats,” Yeosang replied simply, his dark-eyed gaze firm but passionate. “Specifically I want to make sure there are proper protections in place. It’s a tall order, and I’m probably going to cause a lot of shit, but… nobody well-behaved made history.” He shrugged slightly, a small smirk curling his lips. “I’m a human, and it sucks but I have a better shot at being heard so I’m going to use that advantage.”

The Cheetah were-cat’s eyes widened and a genuine smile came to his lips, golden orange eyes sparkling. “You’re full of surprises, Yeosang,” he said quietly, briefly biting his bottom lip. “You should definitely talk to Chan-hyung; I know he’s been setting the foundation for the Bar to be a type of resource centre for were-cats that need help.”

Yeosang blinked and looked thoughtful. “That’s a good idea,” he agreed. “If I ever get this off the ground, I’ll definitely talk to Bang Chan.” He smiled a little. “Thank you.”

Briefly, Hyunjin blushed and rubbed his neck, glancing away in an attempt to compose himself as he absently chewed on his plush bottom lip. “Y-You’re welcome,” he mumbled, embarrassed. He cleared his throat. “It’s just you and your sister?”

Distracted from his thoughts, Yeosang nodded again. “Yes. Jiyong-hyung lives here too, but he’s usually on the road or busy with schedules, same with Taemin-hyung and BamBam-hyung. Everybody else is kind of coming and going.” He made a side-to-side motion with his hand. “I guess this place is like a halfway house slash school?” Yeosang looked over at Yuna, who was watching with a smile on her lips.

“That’s probably the most accurate,” Yuna agreed, resting her chin on her palm.

Hyunjin blinked. “You’re just going to glaze over the fact that you told me G-Dragon and Lee Taemin live here and you’re one big family?”

Yeosang blinked back at him. “Jiyong-hyung and Yuna practically grew up together and partners in crime. When we were strays, they met Taemin-hyung and since then we’ve all stuck to each other like glue.” He snorted softly. “Then somehow Taemin-hyung got to know Kim Seokjin, Park Bogum and Park Seojoon but that’s more his social circle than ours.”

“Jeez, you’re like Chan-hyung with how blasé he is with knowing these insanely famous people,” Hyunjin said with a laugh. “Oh! How’s Jeonginie when he’s here?”

“He’s a very good student,” Yuna answered, smiling. “Loves giving BamBam trouble, but I think he’s gotten far more comfortable with his magic and himself in the last year. Despite being a half-Black Cat, he’s very strong.”

Hyunjin smiled proudly and nodded. “He’s come a long way since he showed up half-dead at the Bar. – That was the day Sannie left, I think… Sannie left then Jeonginie found us that same night.”

Yeosang blinked. “That’s a pretty eventful day.”

“A little bit,” Hyunjin admitted, laughing. He bit his lip and smiled brightly, straightening up in his seat. “—Okay, so we’ve gotten pretty comfortable here. What a host would do now is slide in a comment about how we’ve worked up a thirst, or maybe with what we’ve been talking about I’d suggest one of Chan-hyung’s signature drinks or one of BamBam-hyung’s specialty drinks. Like, if the customer is feeling a bit apprehensive, I’d suggest something like ‘Blueprint’ or ‘Miroh’ which help boost their mood. If they want to feel more comforted, there’s ‘Double Knot’ which is more energetic and fresh. If they want to party, _TA_ and _God’s Menu_ , the titular drink is the way to go.”

“And the customers don’t feel weird about being up sold like that?” Yeosang asked, honestly curious.

Hyunjin shook his head. “They’re free to decline the drink, and we have ‘no-charge’ drinks like pop or water if they want. A specially curated menu for the host appointments are more popular with anxious guests. First and foremost, we want everyone to feel comfortable and want to come back. If they don’t buy anything, that’s fine; their comfort and enjoyment comes first.” He smiled. “It took me a while to retrain myself; I was so used to how _Star Shine_ ran things…”

Yeosang frowned; he’d heard from San that _Star Shine_ had done some really shady things, and the article Wooyoung found about San mentioned Hyunjin being _Star Shine’s_ secret weapon. “I’m glad you’re in a safer place now. San mentioned that _Star Shine_ was… not a healthy work environment.”

Appreciating the tactfully worded statement, Hyunjin nodded. “I owe Sannie a lot. Everyone, really. They believed in me when I didn’t.”

“I can see why,” Yeosang said simply, a small smile on his lips. “I don’t know you that well, but from everything I’ve heard and talking to you, you’re a good person, Hyunjin. I’d trust you.”

A bright blush coloured Hyunjin’s tanned cheeks and his shoulders hunched up a bit in embarrassment. “Thank you,” He mumbled, a shy smile coming to his tinted lips. “Um, that’s… that’s pretty much the appointment in a nutshell. The rest of it is just practice.” Hyunjin looked over to Yuna, trying to recompose himself, but it was clear he was still very affected by Yeosang’s honest compliment.

“I think I can give it a try,” Yuna said. “Yeosang, do you mind ordering something for us? I think after this we could use a bit of a break.”

Grateful for the escape plan to recollect himself, Yeosang nodded and bowed, rising from his seat and making as graceful as an exit as he could. As he walked down the hall and away from Yuna’s study, Yeosang pulled out his phone and called Wooyoung. “Tell me that I’m an idiot.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”

“I’m not going to give up the chance to call you an idiot; I don’t care what the reason is!” Wooyoung replied, giggling madly on the other end of the line. “But okay, I’ll play along. Why are you an idiot?”

Yeosang sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, abruptly stopping as Kai shot past him in his Black Cat form, followed closely by Yeonjun. “Because I think I have a crush on the host that’s helping train Yuna for that Valentine’s Day thing at _God’s Menu_.”

There was a long pause before Wooyoung’s high-pitched cackle threatened to blow out Yeosang’s ears. “You know Hosts are _supposed_ to flirt with you, right?” he teased. “Did you fall in love with a Host that was just playing a part?”

“He wasn’t, though,” Yeosang muttered, embarrassment heating up his face as he realized how stupid he sounded. “Ugh, calling you was a mistake. Is San there? I’d rather talk to him than you.”

“No, no, no! I wanna – hey!”

“Yeah, I’m here. What’s up, Yeosang-hyung?” San’s voice was steady despite the scuffling and rustling sounds coming from the other end where he was presumably dancing away from Wooyoung who was attempting to get the phone back.

Yeosang smiled faintly; despite being obnoxiously loud together, San and Wooyoung were a good balance for one another. “You know Hwang Hyunjin really well, right?”

There was a pause on the other end and a loud whine of disappointment from Wooyoung before San responded. “Yeah, Hyunjin and I go way back. Something happen?”

“I’m gonna call Changbin and tell him to beat you up!” Wooyoung exclaimed in the background.

“Tell him I said hi,” San retorted.

“…he wouldn’t unnecessarily flirt with someone, would he? Like… lead them on?” Yeosang felt stupider the more he was trying to ask what he needed to, and put a hand over his face with a groan. “I don’t even know why I’m asking this. We had a fake hosting appointment so he could help Yuna, and there’s this… I think I felt something.”

A longer pause of silence followed. “Yuna? Who’s Yuna?”

“ _That’s_ your question? She’s my sister,” Yeosang answered in disbelief.

“But Hyunjin’s… oh. OH! Sorry, just… somethings are making sense now,” San apologized. “And no, Hyunjin wouldn’t lead someone on. He plays his part as a host when he clocks in, but on his off hours? Nah.” Another pause. “Were you flirting with him?”

Yeosang’s cheeks burned as he paused, leaning against one of the walls. “Maybe,” he admitted.

San was silent again and Yeosang wondered if he could crawl into a hole and die. Every minute of this conversation was the worst decision he’d ever made. “Hyunjin’s a flirt as a host, but he’s a sweet, sensitive guy underneath it all; it’s like, the host personality is a security blanket. He feels with all of himself, for better or worse, you know? I don’t think he could manipulate anybody if he tried.” There was a little chuckle. “Was he biting his lip?”

“A lot.”

Another chuckle, this one louder. “Then he’s interested. Go for it, Yeo-hyung. Hyunjin’s cute and so are you. I think you’d look good together.”

“Thank you,” Yeosang mumbled, embarrassed. He looked down as something tapped his foot and smiled faintly as he saw Soobin, with his bright blue eyes and soulmate earrings dangling from his tail. He crouched down and gave the Black Cat a little scritch on his little kitty chin before the were-cat took off. “Mention a word of this to anyone and I’ll make sure the only place you return to is six feet underground.”

This time he wasn’t surprised to hear silence on the other end. “Damn, hyung, I wasn’t going to tell anybody,” San mumbled, suitably threatened.

“…Good. Thank you.”

~ * ~

Cursing under his breath for his stupid human legs as he chased Kai down the hall, Yeosang wondered if it would be animal cruelty if he threw his slipper and beaned the little Black Cat in the head as Kai darted around the corner with Yeosang’s phone. He had the phone in his mouth by the charms affixed to it, and every time it bounced against the hardwood floor, a bit more of Yeosang’s soul died. He was expecting the others over today to hang out, a break from their busy university lives, and this little shit…!

“Yuna’s gonna have to reanimate you when I’m done with you!” Yeosang hissed as he skidded a bit, turning on his heel and changing course to chase after Kai. He stopped short, however, when he heard a crash coming from Yuna’s study and changed course, hurrying in. “Sis! Are you—”

Jiyong was crouched at Yuna’s side, bracing her up against her giant blackwood desk, carding his fingers through her hair. “I know the mail wasn’t that heavy,” he lightly teased, poking Yuna’s forehead. “What’s going on, Yunie?”

Weakly and with a bit of a depth perception issue, Yuna swatted at his hand. “I just haven’t had a chance to catch myself and sleep, that’s all,” she muttered, rubbing her right ear. “Changkyun’s been spiralling after he spoke to Minhyuk, those five boys need somewhere to direct their energy… what _isn’t_ going on? Why do I… _feel_ so much?”

That was a surprising admission, with surprise registering on both Jiyong and Yeosang’s handsome features. “You’re _feeling_ , Yunie?” Jiyong asked, his yellow/gold eyes glinting in the bright mid-morning sun.

“Too much,” Yuna muttered, raking a hand through her dark, bluish-black hair, her hand sliding down her neck to her chest, where she gripped her shirt over her heart. “I’m feeling _too much_ , and it’s … it’s exhausting. How do you do it?”

Jiyong frowned and cast a sidelong glance to Yeosang, gesturing for him to come in and help. “Looks like a very handsome man made this dull heart of yours pulse with joy,” he murmured thoughtfully. “Funny how you and Changkyun didn’t feel anything until you met your soulmates. You Necromancers are an interesting lot.”

“Is now really the time to be waxing poetic?” Yeosang asked incredulously as he carefully helped his sister to her feet with the older Black Cat’s help. “You’ve got to take the day off today, Yuna. I don’t care what you’ve got going on; you’re in no shape to do anything right now.”

“I agree with the little master,” Jiyong said, shouldering most of Yuna’s weight as they helped her out of her study and to her private quarters. “You’re resting today.”

“Fine, fine,” Yuna muttered, and if that wasn’t the most telling thing of all that she was at the end of her rope in terms of her energy levels, Jiyong and Yeosang didn’t know what was. They shared a long look with one another before they continued to carry Yuna to her private quarters.

Once his sister was settled in, Yeosang left the room practically seething; there was no way that Kim Seokjin didn’t know that she was this fucked up from not seeing him. Even without the wrinkle of Black Cats needing to be physically near their soulmate, why hadn’t he – or Yuna for that matter – tried to see one another at least once? They were both being stupid about it, and Yeosang was on his last nerve about the whole thing. It had been nearly two years since they’d met, how could he not know? How could she not tell him?

He stopped short when he nearly ran smack into a tall boy that he recognized as Kai. “Um, here,” the young Black Cat said, handing him his phone. “It seems like something serious is going on so I thought I’d bring it back.”

Surprised, Yeosang tightened his hand around his iPhone. “Thank you,” he said finally. “And… no bothering Raven today, all right? She’s not feeling well.”

Kai’s grey eyes widened and he nodded. “Yeah, no problem.” He looked over towards the pair of closed doors, and then back to Yeosang. “Are you having friends over? Can we meet them?”

Damn the sociable extroverts that his sister took in, Yeosang thought. Then again, they were just excitable with a lot of energy to burn, like puppies. Yeosang couldn’t really fault them. Well, he could, but it wasn’t right. “Sure,” he finally agreed. “I think Hongjoong-hyung’s coming separately; he’s reforming a jacket. Yeah, everyone will be here so you could meet them.”

“Reforming?” Kai tilted his head as he followed Yeosang curiously.

“He takes old pieces of clothing and like, transforms them,” Yeosang explained. “Sometimes it’s turning them into art pieces, or redesigning them.” He took his reclaimed phone and unlocked it, showing Kai a few of Hongjoong’s pieces.

“That’s pretty cool!” Kai’s grey eyes were bright with curiosity, a smile on his lips.

Yeosang smiled a little. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool.”

While he had no idea what was going to happen when he introduced Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and Kai to his friends, Yeosang had a feeling that it was going to be loud, and to his slight distress, he was right. He couldn’t be that mad, however, as it was nice to hear laughter bouncing off the walls of the estate, something that he always loved to hear. And, honestly, a relief considering how stressful the last couple of weeks had become.

While Mingi and Yunho were laughing and trading jokes with Kai and Beomgyu, Yeosang looked down as his phone rang. Curiously, he pulled it out of his pocket and checked the caller ID: it was Hyunjin. A small smile came to his lips and he rose to his feet. “Excuse me for a minute, I just need to take this,” he said to the group, bowing deeply and exiting the room. He pressed accept on the screen and put the phone to his right ear. “Hello?”

“Yeosang, hello!” came Hyunjin’s voice, excited and sweet. “It’s Hyunjin. — am I calling at a bad time?”

“No, not at all,” Yeosang said, shaking his head slightly as he moved a bit down the hall, realizing that the possibility was very high that his conversation was going to be eavesdropped on - especially by San, Wooyoung and Mingi. “How are things?”

A smile came to the human’s lips as he heard Hyunjin’s little laugh. “Good, it’s a bit of a madhouse here as we’re preparing for the Valentine’s Day event, but I’m in between appointments and I wanted to talk to you. You said you were having friends over today?”

Yeosang made a soft sound of confirmation. “Yeah, everyone’s over here and they were meeting those five black cats my sister took in. Hongjoong-hyung’s the only one not with us but he’s working on that secret present for Seonghwa-hyung. It’s a madhouse here but for completely different reasons.”

Hyunjin’s laugh was clear in the phone’s speaker and Yeosang couldn’t help the smile that came to his lips. “It sounds fun though! I really want to meet everyone; San said he’d bring everybody by someday. You have to hold him to that.”

“I don’t know if I want to for how loud that’s going to be,” Yeosang said, laughing a little. “Who _have_ you met?”

There was a soft hum on the other end of the phone. “I’ve met Wooyoung, Hongjoong, Seonghwa-hyung, of course, and you! So that leaves …”

“Mingi, Yunho-hyung and Jongho,” Yeosang finished, nodding to himself. “I think you’d like them; Yunho and Mingi have the same type of manic energy as the rest of them but Jongho’s a bit more reserved.”

“Like you?”

“Mm, a bit like me.”

“Then… I think I’ll like him a lot.”

Yeosang paused, his mouth hanging open slightly as his brain processed the were-cat’s reply. “Hyunjin…”

“…Yeah?”

“Yeosang!” Yunho exclaimed, suddenly grabbing the younger man by the shoulder and turning him around. “We lost them!”

Flustered by Hyunjin’s smooth line and suddenly getting the jump dropped on him, Yeosang was a bit of a mess. “L-Lost who?”

“Those guys!” Yunho said urgently. “They tricked Seonghwa-hyung and took off into the estate! We don’t know where they went!”

“Shit,” Yeosang hissed. “Hyunjin, sorry. I need to go - those Black Cats don’t know this place well enough and they could get themselves hurt.”

“It’s okay!” Hyunjin replied. “Good luck!”

“Thanks; I’ll call you later.” Quickly, Yeosang ended the call and nodded to Yunho. “Take Mingi and go that way.” He pointed east. “I’m going to get San, Wooyoung and Jongho. Seonghwa-hyung should stay where he is in case they loop back.”

Yunho nodded. “Min! Let’s go!”

“Coming!”

As he hurried off, Yeosang realized that the phrase ‘as difficult as herding cats’ was more of a prophecy than anything else. While he was running around with his head cut off, either narrowly missing one of the five young were-cats or running into one of his friends, Hongjoong had almost single-handedly captured all five of them through various means. The rest of the day went smoothly after that, thankfully and Yeosang wondered if it would have been in poor taste to make the strongest drink possible in order to dull his nerves.

Gently, he knocked on the door to Yuna’s room. “How are you feeling?” he asked, smiling gently. “Sorry if we woke you up; those guys decided today was the day to try their luck against my friends.”

Yuna smiled tiredly. “No, it’s all right. It was nice to hear so much activity,” she admitted. “Sometimes… it can get too quiet here. I wonder if that’s why we keep so busy.”

“Maybe,” Yeosang said, sitting down beside her on the bed and gently brushed some of her hair away from her face. “Do you feel any better?”

“A little,” Yuna replied, exhaling softly. “But I don’t think staying in bed another day is going to be as restful as I’d hoped. Life doesn’t stop, and I can’t afford to either.”

Yeosang frowned as he put his arms around his sister, letting her rest against him. He knew what he had to do.

 **Yeosang [4:50 p.m.]  
** San, I have a favour to ask  
Do you know when Kim Seokjin is going to be at the restaurant?  
I need to talk to him

 **San [4:54 p.m.]  
** He should be there tomorrow from open to close.  
It’s tough to get to talk to him, though

 **Yeosang [4:55 p.m.]  
** That’s where you come in

~ * ~

It had been easier than Yeosang anticipated to get into Kim Seokjin’s office at _Moon_ ; San had gotten him in by presenting him as a friend of his that was looking for a job. Excited to meet one of San’s friends, Seokjin had agreed to meet the friend in his office. A part of Yeosang felt bad for using San’s goodwill with the older man like this, but San had been confident that it would be fine. Plus, this was for Yuna and he wasn’t about to wait around for this to get better; Yeosang didn’t believe in fate the way his sister did.

He sat in the plush chair that sat across from Seokjin’s desk, hands folded neatly in his lap and dressed stylishly but a step below business casual. Yeosang exhaled softly and closed his eyes as he heard the door open; it was go time.

“Hello, hello!” Seokjin greeted, closing the door behind him. “You’re one of Sannie’s friends, yes? What’s your name?”

Yeosang slowly stood up and turned to face the fashion designer, bowing respectfully. “…Kang Yeosang. And I have to apologize, Mr. Kim: I’m not here for a job interview; I’m here to talk to you about my sister, Yuna.”

The confusion that coloured Seokjin’s handsome features soon gave way to realization, then concern. “Is something wrong?”

“ _Yes there’s something wrong!_ ” Yeosang exploded, surprising the man with his exclamation. “How could you not know that there isn’t?!” He put a hand to his head, forcing himself to calm down and breathe properly, recomposing himself. “There’s something that Yuna hasn’t been telling you and things have gotten bad enough that _I’m_ going to.”

Seokjin frowned, making his way over from the door towards his desk. “Yeosang? What are you talking about?”

Swallowing tightly, Yeosang sat back down and looked at the supermodel with narrowed eyes. “So she really hasn’t told you. Ugh, the two of you are driving me nuts,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I’m not going to beat around the bush here: there’s another part of the whole Soulmate thing when it comes to Black Cats that you need to know.”

The older man’s finely groomed eyebrows furrowed in increasing concern. “Another part? By the way you look, it doesn’t seem to be something good.”

“It’s usually not a problem, when the soulmates are together,” Yeosang replied, his tone icy. “But in the case of the two of you, it becomes a big problem. A Black Cat needs to be physically near their soulmate, once they meet them, that’s where they get their energy.”

At least Seokjin had the grace to look shocked, putting a hand to his mouth. “Wh-What? She didn’t mention anything like that at all! We’ve… I’ve talked to her constantly since Christmas, she never…”

“No, she wouldn’t,” Yeosang sighed, shaking his head. “But how could you go three months without seeing someone you’re dating!? Are you even _trying?_ ” He frowned at the older man. “I know the two of you are busy, but that’s no excuse! You haven’t… You haven’t seen how much she’s been fading, how much she’s taken on just to hide it! You made her feel all these emotions and you just… continued on like it was normal? You’re seeing a Black Cat! It’s not that simple!” He clenched his fists. “I’m not going to lose my only family because your work is more important! Get your shit together, Kim Seokjin!”

Without waiting for the restauranteur to answer, Yeosang pushed himself to his feet and left the office, closing the door firmly behind him. The adrenaline was pumping through his veins, swallowing thickly in an attempt to push down the bile that was rising in his throat. He’d just gone into Kim Seokjin’s own restaurant and _yelled at him_. It had to be done, but there had to have been a better way to go about it.

Then again, he was frustrated enough that he came here… there was no way he was going to be quiet about it.

He just hoped it would work; he couldn’t lose Yuna.

Absently, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, barely paying attention as he pushed call on one of the entries in his call history. “Ah, Yeosang! Good afternoon,” Hyunjin greeted affably. “How are you?”

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Yeosang muttered, continuing to walk briskly down the street. “I just yelled at Kim Seokjin to get his shit together.”

There was understandable silence on the other end of the line. “About your sister? — wait, never mind. Where are you? Still by _Moon?_ ”

Yeosang paused and looked around. “No, I’m … a few blocks away from there.”

“Stay put and send me your location. I’m coming.”

“Wh - don’t you have work?”

“Not for a couple of hours,” Hyunjin replied as the sounds of shuffling and grabbing things filled the other end of the line. “And Chan-hyung would understand if I was late. — now send me your location, I’m coming to you.”

Yeosang didn’t know what to say, other than “…Okay.” The call ended and he numbly thumbed over to his message thread with Hyunjin, sending him his location pin. Dumbly, Yeosang stood at the corner before a crosswalk as it began to lightly snow. A lot quicker than he anticipated, the human watched as Hyunjin’s tall, slender frame came into view, standing out amongst the throngs of people in his stylish clothes and golden blond hair and eyes. “You… didn’t have to come here,” he said quietly.

“You sounded like you needed someone to talk to,” Hyunjin replied simply, giving him a small smile. “Come on, I know a good café nearby.” He linked his arm together with Yeosang’s, gently tugging him along until they began to walk in lockstep down the sidewalk. They must have cut quite the striking picture together as Yeosang felt everyone’s eyes on them as they walked.

Soon enough, Yeosang found himself inside a cozy café run by a nice couple that seemed to be frequented by people their age. Hyunjin greeted the woman behind the counter, exchanging brief pleasantries while making an order for a pair of hazelnut coffees and some pastries. Easily, the Cheetah were-cat led Yeosang to a table by the back of the café, about as private as it could get in an open space like this.

Yeosang looked down at the rings on his fingers, idly fiddling with the handmade friendship bracelet that Wooyoung made out of gorgeous dark metals and red and yellow gems. “My sister… she hasn’t been feeling well; Black Cats need to be physically by their soulmate because they get their energy from them once they’ve met. Yuna… once she realized what was happening, hated it. The whole idea. She’d made her peace with never meeting her soulmate, almost preferred it, but when she had and they were both so busy…” He sighed. “So of course she didn’t tell Mr. Kim; not when things were still so new.”

Hyunjin was silent as he listened, nodding carefully and only breaking his attention away when their order game so he could thank the employee. “It’s understandable,” Hyunjin finally said. “Mr. Kim didn’t know, and your sister hated that it was even a thing. Not the best decision, but understandable… I can’t imagine trying to tell someone you’re with that you physically need them. It might… make things worse.”

Yeosang frowned. “I know…” he looked down at his hands. “But he needed to know. It wasn’t right… that he was going on without realizing what their absence was really doing. Even without that, they weren’t… they hadn’t seen each other for _months_ , that’s not healthy for any relationship. Especially since…”

“…Since what?”

The older of the two men exhaled carefully, taking a sip from his mug. “Because of her magic… because of… what she had to do, back then… she’s… she never knew what it felt like to feel. She _couldn’t_ feel. But after meeting Mr. Kim, that started to change. But she never had to deal with emotions before, so it’s…”

“…an overwhelming mess?” Hyunjin offered, his smile turning a bit sad when Yeosang nodded. “If it helps, even for people who’ve had their emotions since birth, it’s an overwhelming mess and none of us know how to really deal with them.”

Yeosang huffed out a little laugh. “True enough.”

Tilting his head slightly to catch Yeosang’s gaze, Hyunjin gave him a little smile. “I think Miss. Raven’s really lucky to have a brother like you that cares so much about her that he’d risk it all to yell at _Kim Seokjin_.”

“I could’ve been more diplomatic,” Yeosang mumbled, heat rising to his cheeks as he quickly brought the mug to his lips to hide his face.

“Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve,” Hyunjin replied with a bit of a sing-song in his voice and a soft scoff as he reached over to lightly flick Yeosang in the forehead. “Sometimes you have to yell at a supermodel, fashion designer and restauranteur to get through to him.”

Yeosang smiled a little at that. “Would you have done it?”

“A hundred percent,” Hyunjin confirmed, grinning. “Eventually. Once I’d gathered enough courage and maybe cried from the anxiety. You’re really brave, Yeosang.”

“Brave or stupid,” Yeosang muttered.

“Sometimes they’re not mutually exclusive,” Hyunjin said with a laugh, gently placing his hand over Yeosang’s, his long fingers gently curling in so he could hold it. “You did a good thing, you know. I know Miss. Raven will see it that way.”

“…I hope so.” Yeosang looked down, his eyes slightly widening when he realized that Hyunjin was holding his hand. “…thank you for coming. I … did need to talk to someone.”

Hyunjin’s smile widened and a blush coloured his tanned cheeks. “I’m glad I could help.” He gave the older man’s hand a squeeze and gently bit his bottom lip.

~ * ~

_“Come to God’s Menu at 22:00. I want to thank you for what you did.”_

Yeosang had relayed Yuna’s words over and over in his mind as he entered _God’s Menu_ , dressed to the nines in one of the few suits he owned that didn’t belong to Yuna’s _Hyperion_ brand. He’d taken particular care to style his hair and choose his accessories, making sure that it all flowed properly; his sister didn’t spend an inordinate amount of time fostering his style instincts to have it all gone to shit.

Within seconds of entering _God’s Menu_ , Yeosang was greeted by Bang Chan. While Yeosang only recently met the Black Cat in person a short time ago, he felt as if he’d known the older man his whole life with the way that everyone talked about him. San, Seonghwa, Hyunjin and Yuna all had amazing things to say about Bang Chan, and Yeosang wondered if someone could truly be that good of a person. As he finally met the man, he realized that … yeah, someone could be that nice; he hadn’t hesitated to jump in and help Changkyun, and managed to get Yeonjun, Soobin, Kai, Beomgyu and Taehyun to listen to him.

“Good evening,” Yeosang greeted, suspicion bubbling up in him when he saw how bright Chan’s face lit up upon seeing him. “Would you happen to know why my sister wanted me to be here?”

The Black Cat laughed a little bit and bowed slightly. “She wanted you to enjoy your Valentine’s Day,” he replied easily, indicating for Yeosang to follow him with a slight inclination of his head. “She was mentioning that you’d been going through a lot lately and deserved a night to relax.”

Yeosang’s dark eyes narrowed slightly, and a small smirk creased his lips. “I’m sure that’s what she told you,” he said, shaking his head. “But I was expecting something like this after I yelled at her soulmate.”

Chan’s eyes widened. “You … yelled at Kim Seokjin?”

For a brief moment, Yeosang looked embarrassed, but he was unrepentant about it in the end. “My sister… is very good at helping others and giving advice but she’s shit at taking it herself. I didn’t want to interfere but… he had to know.”

“That’s really brave of you,” Chan said, impressed. “I hope it helped. — if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go and get your date.”

“You’re not going to tell me who it is?” Yeosang asked, tilting his head as he stared pointedly at Bang Chan, pursing his lips. Usually he could get anybody to fold with the patented Kang stare, but it seemed Chan was immune.

Chan laughed. “I promised. But it’s a good surprise, trust me.” He brought Yeosang to one of the bigger host stations, looking like it came out of a prince’s castle.

Curiously, Yeosang tapped the tablet that he saw on the table, wrapped in a protective rubber case, and his suspicions were confirmed when he saw Hyunjin’s name come up on a login screen. (So this is what she meant by wanting to thank me? I suppose I deserve it after I stuck my nose in her business,) Yeosang thought, a smirk curling his lips as he took his coat off and hung it up, sitting down and straightening himself out. He glanced over towards a nearby station where Yuna was talking with Seokjin, the two of them in a deep conversation and he smiled; the risk was worth it to see her smile like that.

“—Yeosang? _You’re_ Hyunjin’s date?” came Seonghwa’s voice, surprised and dumbfounded.

Glancing up and inclining his head in greeting, Yeosang chuckled. “When I went to talk to Kim Seokjin, I didn’t think it would land me a Valentine’s Day date; Yuna sure likes her weird ‘thank you’s.”

The Snow Leopard’s expression only became more confused and he looked down to Hyunjin, who had been tightly holding onto the older man’s arm. “…we don’t have time to unpack all of that, but I’ll leave you two to your date.” He carefully extricated himself from Hyunjin’s hold, and gave the Cheetah a soft squeeze on his shoulders. “Enjoy your time at _God’s Menu_.”

“I’m sure I will,” Yeosang murmured, turning his gaze to Hyunjin as he got to his feet and bowed. “I take it you didn’t know about this either.”

Hyunjin quickly shook his head, his jewelry jingling melodically. “No, no idea. But this wouldn’t be happening if Chan-hyung didn’t know about it so I can only imagine that he had something to do with it.”

Yeosang nodded and smiled a little ruefully. “My sister probably had the most to do with it. After what I did, she wanted to ‘thank’ me. I hope you don’t mind being stuck with me for Valentine’s Day; I know it’s pretty awkward as we barely know each other.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Hyunjin quickly said, waving his hands. He looked exquisite in his navy blue and black suit, tailored beautifully to his toned, slender frame. The colours perfectly amplified his blond hair and golden orange eyes; Yuna’s sense of style was impeccable even when she wasn’t dressing herself. “I’m… this is a welcome surprise.”

Yeosang smiled a little at that. “I’m looking forward to being hosted by the Top Host of _God’s Menu_.”

Something shifted in Hyunjin’s gaze, then, and gone was the shy almost vibrating energy that the Cheetah was giving off, replaced by something more confident and sultry. Smoothly, Hyunjin took Yeosang’s ring-adorned hand in his own, bringing it up to place a soft kiss to the back of his hand. “Welcome to _God’s Menu_ , where anything on our menu will satisfy all of your five senses. My name is Hyunjin and I’ll be your host tonight.”

Thrown off by the sudden and complete shift in Hyunjin’s personality, Yeosang felt his ears set themselves on fire, the heat going down to his cheeks and his neck. “You’re pretty forward, Hyunjin. Do you do this with all your customers?” Reflexively, his hand tightened around Hyunjin’s, trying his best not to swallow.

“This is a little unprofessional,” Hyunjin admitted, shifting his grip so that he could comfortably hold Yeosang’s hand, his fingers lightly rubbing in circles. “But this is the first time that I’ve really had you to myself, so you’ll forgive me if I’m a little bold.”

Glancing down at their hands, then back up to Hyunjin’s darkening eyes, Yeosang smirked slightly. “Depends on how bold you’re planning on being.” He glanced down at the tablet, now unlocked and standing by in the order screen for food and drink. “And how thirsty you are.”

Surprise briefly registered on Hyunjin’s handsome face, his plush lips parting slightly. All too soon, however, the surprise had faded and was replaced by a confident, almost haughty smirk. Yeosang felt like he was prey being eyed by a predator out on the open fields… not an unwelcome feeling, to his own surprise. “It sounds like you need something to whet your appetite,” Hyunjin murmured, pulling up the tablet with his free hand. “BamBam-hyung and Jungkook-ssi have made some very limited edition drinks for tonight… one of them, _Home_ … I don’t think that’s quite appropriate for tonight.”

“No?” Yeosang tilted his head slightly, absently running his tongue along his top and bottom lips, tasting the gloss that he’d applied there. “What do you suggest, Top Host Hwang Hyunjin?”

Hyunjin’s golden-eyed gaze dropped down to the table and he brought up the special menu for the night. “ _Pied Piper_ is a very popular one tonight… there’s also…” He flicked his eyes up and caught Yeosang’s gaze. “ _I Need U_.”

Well.

If Yeosang had any questions about where this night was going to possibly go, they’d been answered with that. “That last one sounds pretty good.” What was he doing? Yeosang was never one to talk like this, to put himself out there like this. But there was something about the atmosphere, the way Hyunjin was looking at him, _touching_ him that was hitting all the right buttons for the older man. “I could use something to … no, I’m not going to say it.”

“No, no, I want to hear it,” Hyunjin’s eyes were alight with curiosity.

“You asked for it,” Yeosang warned, his tone light in an attempt to mask the anxiousness that was bubbling up inside of him. “I was thinking I could use something to nibble on.”

Instead of a burst of laughter, Hyunjin’s golden eyes darkened considerably and he absently ran his tongue along his lips. “I think I know just the thing.” He pulled up the tablet, and lightly tapped in an order - two drinks and a shared meal made up of a couple of finger food type appetizers, as well as an order of chocolate covered strawberries. “Will you feed me?”

“I don’t know, it seems like you’ll bite,” Yeosang countered, smirking. They sit, holding each other’s gaze as the atmosphere seems to the thicken by the minute with an unspoken challenge: who was going to break first? Yeosang watched as one of the waiters brought over their food and the drinks, Hyunjin thanking them with a charming smile and a wink. Grateful for a break, Yeosang picked up his drink and brought it to his nose to take a small sniff. A rush of heady spice and crisp apple filled his senses, and the taste was even better.

Hyunjin was watching him over the rim of his own glass, his lip tint staining the glass’ rim. “How does it taste?” he asked conversationally.

The older of the two young men hummed and took another sip, smacking his lips as he set the glass down. “I see why this place is so popular,” Yeosang answered, his attention turning to the little tray of chocolate-covered strawberries. He plucked one up, pinching the leaves between his index, middle finger and thumb, inspecting the swirls of milk and white chocolate, as if trying to figure out what the little sparkles of pink were inside the swirls. Yeosang opened his mouth, well aware of Hyunjin’s sharp eyes watching him, and decided to change course. “…May I?”

A brief flash of surprise coloured Hyunjin’s beautiful face, before slipping back into the sultry expression he was wearing before; the air between them became heightened, charged with an energy that they were both feeding into. “Of course.”

Yeosang’s smirk threatened to split his lips as he huffed a hot burst of breath onto the chocolate covered portion of the strawberry, sliding the strawberry along Hyunjin’s glossy bottom lip, staining it with milk and white chocolate and its dash of raspberry rock sugar. With a gentle push, Yeosang prompted Hyunjin to open his mouth, but was unprepared for the host to curl his tongue around the lower half of the strawberry - and Yeosang’s fingers. “I’m not part of the menu,” Yeosang cautioned, his voice low.

“Shame,” Hyunjin retorted, seconds before biting down on the strawberry slowly, watching as rivulets of faded red juice slid down Yeosang’s slender fingers. “Oh, sorry,” he murmured once he’d chewed and swallowed the huge bite, “let me fix that…” Carefully and with all the care in the world, Hyunjin gently captured Yeosang’s hand in his, sliding his tongue up the lines of strawberry juice that’d slid down Yeosang’s fingers down to his wrist. When he’d reached Yeosang’s fingers, Hyunjin curled his tongue around the older man’s middle finger.

Yeosang had never once felt like he was about to lose control in all his 21 years, but in a moment, Hwang Hyunjin had done it. His heart was pounding in his ears, his chest was threatening to constrict to the point that he’d burst, and worse yet, his pants were beginning to feel unrelentingly uncomfortable. Hyunjin was insistent on cleaning up every trace of strawberry juice that had stained Yeosang’s fingers, it seemed, and Yeosang had to clear his throat. “I think… you’ve gotten it all.”

The Cheetah were-cat smirked, licking his lips as he sat back in his seat, very satisfied with himself. “We should hurry, our food is getting cold.”

“One of us took a little too long cleaning up,” Yeosang pointed out, smirking back. But two could play at that game; when Hyunjin pressed a little heart-shaped savoury pastry to Yeosang’s lips, Yeosang merely bit it and ate it instead of teasing the younger were-cat. Once they’d finished the food and were polishing off the rest of their drinks, Yeosang hummed softly. “I think I’ve seen a different side of you tonight.”

Hyunjin tapped on his table with his finger, closing out the ‘tab’ and was silent for a moment as he powered the device down. “Do you want to come downstairs? I could show you more.”

That… was a very clear invitation, with very little room for misinterpretation. Yeosang had always prided himself on being reserved and thinking things through, but … well, he’d been thinking about this a lot lately. Thinking about _Hyunjin_ a lot lately. “Is that all right? Everyone’s still here.”

“My room’s downstairs and everyone’s going to be busy here for a while longer…” Hyunjin smirked slightly, but Yeosang could see a shy blush colour the Cheetah’s cheeks. So Yeosang wasn’t the only one that was pushing himself outside of his comfort zone. “If you want. No pressure.”

(Cute.) Yeosang plucked the piece of pineapple that was skewered on a toothpick on his drink, and popped it into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. “Let’s go.” Quietly, but with an unspoken sense of urgency, he followed the blond haired man towards the staircase that led down to the basement suite, surprised that it was like an apartment with two rooms on either end of the floor, and a large storage area for supplies for the Bar. “You live here?”

“Me, Jeonginie and Chan-hyung live here,” Hyunjin confirmed as he led Yeosang to his room, elegantly designed but with all the telltale signs that it belonged to a young man in 20s. “The others moved out about a year ago, but… I didn’t want to. I don’t really like the idea of living in apartment again. Bad memories.”

Yeosang’s brows furrowed slightly as Hyunjin closed and locked the door, and when he turned around, the raven haired man gently cupped the Cheetah’s cheeks in his hands. “No judgment here,” he whispered. “Whatever makes you feel safe.”

Hyunjin’s eyes widened and for a moment closed his eyes, as if relishing in the moment and the feeling. He swallowed and opened his eyes, his expression darkening to the one he’d been wearing for the entirety of their appointment minutes before. He licked his lips, undoubtedly catching how Yeosang’s eyes caught the movement and wasted little time in pressing their lips together.

In his surprise, Yeosang was easily moved so that he was the one pressed up against the door. The thick rustle of the fabric of their expensive suits seemed heightened in the silence, the only sound being the muffled sounds of the music on the main floor. One of Hyunjin’s hands carded through Yeosang’s raven black hair, the other tightening on his hip as the kiss deepened. It had been a long time since Yeosang had been kissed, and even longer like _this_. Just as quickly as he’d had his breath stolen away, Hyunjin broke the kiss to leave a trail of biting kisses down Yeosang’s jaw and neck, deft fingers loosening his tie and unfastening the buttons on his shirt.

With more bared skin to play with, Hyunjin’s kisses became biting, and Yeosang’s gaze became unfocused and hazy, the human having a difficult time focusing on _anything_ that wasn’t Hyunjin’s mouth. “H-Hey,” Yeosang breathed, weakly tugging Hyunjin back as he started paying particular attention to the left side of his neck. “W-Wait.”

Stopping immediately, Hyunjin raised his head, golden eyes bright with concern. “Are you okay? Is it … is it too much?” he asked, biting his lip.

“N-No, no,” Yeosang answered, shaking his head. “But… how… how far do you want to go? It’s… been a while for me. A long while.”

“Same,” Hyunjin admitted, swallowing. “Maybe not… all the way, but I really want to blow you.”

Yeosang felt his soul leave his body. His hands tightened on Hyunjin’s waist, tugging him closer by dipping his fingers beneath the black leather belt until their hips connected. Hyunjin’s eyes widened and Yeosang laughed a little. “Got you.”

He captured the Cheetah were-cat’s lips in a kiss, setting the pace slowly and deeply, realizing it was the best way with both of them feeling so jittery. Hyunjin moaned softly, the sound swallowed up in the kiss, his fingers carefully but purposefully pulling Yeosang’s finely pressed button-down shirt out so he could slide his hands up the older man’s back. His nails lightly dragged down the flushed skin, prompting Yeosang’s hips to kick and press against Hyunjin’s, a rush of arousal shooting through them both at the delicious drag of friction.

The thought vaguely occurred to Yeosang that they were going to wrinkle the hell out of their suits, but it flew right out of his head when Hyunjin broke the kiss to resume his attack on the raven haired man’s neck. A strangled moan tumbled past Yeosang’s lips as Hyunjin’s teeth and lips bit and sucked at a choice spot on his neck, no doubt leaving a bright bruise behind. It was just high enough that Yeosang realized through increasingly hazy thoughts that he’d have to commit to wearing turtlenecks for the foreseeable future.

He was more excited by the thought than he realized. He bit his lip when he felt Hyunjin grind his hips against his own, realizing that the were-cat had realized how turned on he was becoming. “You’re so hot, Yeosang…” Hyunjin whispered against his neck, his voice low and rough with desire. “I thought about this a lot…”

“Yeah?” He couldn’t manage more than that, not with how suddenly restrictive his suit felt, how each place Hyunjin’s hands touched felt like it was on fire. The sound of his belt unlatching rang out like an alarm, his breath catching in his throat when he felt the younger man slip his fingers into his waistband.

“…Can I?” Hyunjin asked, looking up at the older man through his long lashes, gaze hot.

“Y-Yeah,” Yeosang confirmed, embarrassed at how his voice sounded. He bit his lip, swallowing when that look clouded Hyunjin’s face again as he pulled the other’s pants down, freeing his already hardening cock. Yeosang hissed as the cold air hit his flushed skin, but it was nothing compared to when the were-cat slid his tongue up the sensitive length with teasing licks. “ _Fuck_ ,” he cursed, breathing heavily as he firmly planted his hands against the door, his knees threatening to buckle.

Without missing a beat, Hyunjin reached for one of Yeosang’s hands, anchoring it in his thick blond hair. “Hold on tight,” Hyunjin murmured, his breath sending shockwaves up Yeosang’s body. “You make such pretty sounds, Yeosang… can’t wait to hear them all.”

“W-Where’s that shyness from before?” Yeosang asked breathlessly, his fingers tightening in Hyunjin’s hair when the were-cat swirled his tongue around the tip. His vision crossed and he squeezed his eyes shut as he swallowed a moan, unsuccessful when the blond haired man took him in full. “F- _Fuck_ … h-how are you so good at this?” He wasn’t going to last long; the build up had been two weeks in the making, with their date feeling like an eternity of teasing.

Hyunjin hummed, knowing full well what the vibrational sound would do to Yeosang, and he held the older man’s hips in place, pushing up his shirt so it was out of his way. A hot swirl of arousal continued to pool in the human’s gut, and he tilted his head back as he struggled to hold himself together. The Host’s fingers dug into his hips, seemingly intent on sucking Yeosang’s soul out through his dick with his ministrations. His fingers would bruise the older man’s hips, that much Yeosang was sure of, and his hips kicked a bit at the image.

“C-Close, shit, I’m…” Yeosang breathed, his breaths coming out in short bursts as his grip tightened in the were-cat’s thick blond locks. “N-No, pull … pull off, or — _Hyunjin!_ ” the exclamation caught him by surprise as his climax hit, and instead of pulling away, Hyunjin tightened his grip on Yeosang’s hips, swallowing it all without any hesitation. “F-Fuck… sorry…I tried to warn you…”

Shaking his head as he slowly pulled off Yeosang’s cock, Hyunjin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Wanted it,” Hyunjin replied hoarsely, slowly rising to his feet with the soft cracks of his joints finally being able to move again. “You tasted good, Yeosang…”

“D-Don’t just _say_ shit like that,” Yeosang groaned, easy pickings for another kiss. “G-Get… get on the bed, let me get you off.”

“No need,” Hyunjin whispered, pressing close enough for Yeosang to feel the telltale wetness on Hyunjin’s boxers. When had he had the wherewithal to undo his own pants? Then again, the entire bar could have collapsed and Yeosang might not have noticed. “Watching you come undone was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen, Kang Yeosang…”

A breathless huff of laughter left the human and he shook his head. “You’re a demon, Hwang Hyunjin,” he replied, gratefully taking the bunch of tissues that Hyunjin gave him, the two of them cleaning themselves up and putting themselves back together with … less awkwardness than there should’ve been. Just as Hyunjin had finished washing out his mouth, Yeosang gently grasped his wrist and tugged him over, pressing a kiss to his minty scented lips. “Do you want to go on a date with me?” It was a surprisingly shy question, considering what they’d just done, but Yeosang was suddenly overcome with self-consciousness.

It didn’t get any better when Hyunjin’s expression turned from fond to surprised, his own cheeks turning pink. “Yeah. — Yeah, I do,” he agreed, smiling shyly.

“Then it’s a date,” Yeosang confirmed, smiling back. “I… I wish I could stay, but I have classes tomorrow…”

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin said, shaking his head. “…let me walk you out?”

“Sure.” Yeosang knew they’d cut a suspicious picture as they came up from the personal quarters together, but he didn’t care. As they reached the main floor of _God’s Menu_ and he put on his winter coat, Hyunjin leading him to the front area of the Bar, Yeosang smirked slightly and stole a kiss from the taller man, pleased with the embarrassed sputter that tumbled out of him. “Goodnight, Hwang Hyunjin.”

“You—! I’ll pay you back for that, Yeosang!” Hyunjin exclaimed, putting his hands over his face, which was aflame with embarrassment. He was sure that everyone saw and he was never going to hear the end of it.

Yeosang waved a hand as he headed out. “I’m looking forward to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the end! Next up is Seokjin and Raven! 
> 
> How's everyone doing?
> 
> Remember to take care of yourselves and I purple you~


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